The Twinning of Aeryn Sun
by blueaeryn
Summary: An AU where Aeryn was twinned instead of John
1. The Twinning of Aeryn Sun Pt 1

The Twinning of Aeryn Author: blueaeryn Rating: G Summary: What if Aeryn had Been Twinned Instead of John  
  
Notes: Spoilers through Infinite Possibilities Pt. 2 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
She was finally back home. It wasn't until she spent the countless solar days on Talyn that she realized how she now thought of Moya as home. The first real home she had ever known, something she had never known she was missing until she found it on this leviathion with a group of escaping prisoners whom she now considered family.  
  
He was the reason, the catalyst for her transformation. She longed for him every microt she sped through the universe on Talyn being chased by her mother. Xhalex had pursued them for what seemed like an eternity, only to catch up with them on a planet she and Crais had found that would heal Talyn.  
  
It was there in the sweltering heat of a heavily vegetated planet she couldn't even remember the name of that her mother had died at the hands of her daughter. Aeryn stared down at the woman who had given her life and pulled the trigger ending her life in the same manner Xhalex had taken her father's life. A bit of her soul died that day, some of the goodness she had been striving to find in herself slipped away and she didn't think she could ever get it back.  
  
Aeryn had been prepared to enter the same awkwardness she had felt prior to her departure, but nothing was the same as when she had left. Prior to leaving on Talyn, the rest on Moya were enjoying the interplay between Crichton, herself and the twin that had returned with them when they had run into Karvok on that horrid leviathion. Two Aeryns, and one Crichton. It was a weird time for all of them.  
  
She doubted herself on numerous occasions. Karvok had said they were equals, not copies, but Aeryn wasn't sure. What if she was the mirror and the other Aeryn was the real person? It haunted her, and she was sure the same fears filled her other self as well.  
  
When they had all returned to Moya, they had discovered a wounded Crais and a battered Talyn. Crais was doubly shocked to discover Aeryn was alive and now there were two of them.  
  
After procuring the chromexin to heal Talyn, it became clear that one of them, Aeryn or her other self, needed to accompany Crais on Talyn. Of course, each believed she should go, and in her mind Aeryn knew the true Aeryn should be the one to go. Talyn would know the truth, he could sense the true Aeryn. Nothing was settled, as the retrieval squad was fast approaching, and so Aeryn took matters into her own hands. She had knocked her other self out and made her way to Talyn.  
  
Preparing to starburst, Aeryn was trying to contact John to let him know what was happening. She couldn't get the comms to project her communication, but she could hear him. He was talking to D'Argo about Crais and how he was sure Crais loved that there was two Aeryns since he was hoping to take her away from him. It shocked Aeryn to find out that John thought this way. She never realized he was jealous, because she thought he knew there was nothing to be jealous of. She loved John, and only John.  
  
Aeryn kept trying to contact him, and finally he cut in. "Aeryn" his voice came through in a static mumbling.  
  
"John" she said loudly. "I am going on Talyn to help Crais, but I will be back."  
  
"Aeryn, what," he asked. "You are on Talyn with Crais?"  
  
Aeryn could hear the jealousy laced in his question. "John, I love you," Aeryn said as Talyn initiated starburst. She wasn't sure if he even heard her words of endearment. She could only hope he knew how much she loved him, and that in her heart, she was the real Aeryn.  
  
Now, almost a cycle later, she sat in her quarters on Moya, wishing she hadn't left. If she hadn't have left, then maybe she would have John's love. It seemed he didn't have the capacity for that emotion anymore.  
  
For the other Aeryn, his Aeryn, was gone. She had died of radiation poison on Da Ba Da. She had shoved John aside to expose herself to the radiation instead of him. Chiana had cried as she told Aeryn the story. It seemed this Aeryn had truly endeared herself to the rest on Moya, something she felt she could never do.  
  
Crichton hadn't spoken to her. He knew of her return, but she hadn't seen him. He had locked himself away in his quarters with a black privacy drape drawn over the doors.  
  
She now stood at that door, and steeled herself to enter. Waving her hand over the door control, it opened with a whoosh and she parted the black drape and entered.  
  
The room was dark, except for one tiny light off to the side. After her eyes adjusted to the dimly lit room she saw him. He was sitting on the floor at the edge of the bed. His hair was longer then she remembered and he had a beard. She had only seen him with a beard once before, when they had inadvertently left him stranded on that planet the first cycle they were together.  
  
"John," she said as she walked toward him. He didn't look up to her, just stared into space. "John, you have to get up, you have to go on."  
  
"Aeryn, you've come back," John whispered as he finally looked at her. Scrambling to his feet, he pulled her into his arms and held her close.  
  
His arms, tightly around her, felt so good. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him to her. John was in her arms and holding her, and for the briefest moment she was felt safe and pure joy. But it all came crashing down around her. He wasn't holding her, not in his mind. He was holding her, the Aeryn who had stayed on Moya. The one he considered his wife.  
  
"D'Argo said you weren't coming back," John said holding her away from him. "But I told him you would and you are here."  
  
With all of her strength, Aeryn backed away from his grasp. "No, I haven't come back," she told him as her heart cracked a little more. "I am Aeryn, but the other Aeryn. The one who left on Talyn."  
  
Puzzlement flashed across John's face and then realization replaced it. "Aeryn," he said.  
  
"Yes." It was all she could force from her lips.  
  
"Aeryn." John said her name over and over. He walked aimlessly over to his bed and sat down. The sheets were rumpled and appeared they hadn't been washed in many solar days. The stench hung in the room and Aryn lifted the back of her hand to her nose to try and block the smell.  
  
"Aeryn's dead," he said almost to herself. "She died trying to save me. Again. Only this time Zhaan wasn't here to bring her back. Nothing could bring her back."  
  
"I know," Aeryn said as she made her way to his side. She lifted her hand to stroke his head but he moved away. She wasn't even good enough to offer him comfort.  
  
"We.. We . We were going home," John said as a tear streamed down his face. "She wanted to go back to Earth with me."  
  
"That would have been nice," Aeryn told him. But it hurt to know that if they had left then she would have been left her alone. That she wasn't important.  
  
John rubbed his hands up and down his face as if to clear his vision. "You are just like her," he finally said. "You are her."  
  
Aeryn didn't say anything. What could she say? She was Aeryn Sun, but she wasn't his Aeryn Sun. The one he had formed a true relationship with.  
  
"She was going to have a baby," John told her with a slight smile. "Why would she expose herself to radiation with our baby inside her? Why?"  
  
His news shocked her. Her other self carried a child. Was it prior to their twinning? Did she also carry a child? How did they find out?  
  
"She discovered we were having a baby when we ran into an ex-peacekeeper surgeon,' he said still wearing a slight smile. "She said the baby had been in stasis and had it released. She said female peacekeepers could hold a pregnancy in stasis for up to seven cycles, but she was sure it was mine."  
  
She reached out again to stroke his head and this time he let her. His broken spirit crushed her. Could she help him break through this grief? Could she take on the role her other self had left behind? Could she be more again, and give John the love he had found with the other Aeryn? Could she make him love HER again?  
  
Time. Only time would tell if he could open his heart and love Aeryn Sun. 


	2. The Twinning of Aeryn Sun Pt 2

Living with Aeryn's Twin (Companion to The Twinning of Aeryn)  
  
Author: blueaeryn  
  
Rating: G  
  
Summary: What if Aeryn had Been Twinned Instead of John  
  
Notes: Spoilers through Infinite Possibilities Pt. 2  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
They said he was a ghost, haunting the passageways of Moya. Oh, he was still flesh and blood, and if you cut him he would bleed, but inside he was dead, because she was gone. In a flash of bright blue light, she had been ripped from him.  
  
All his hopes, and his dreams went with her, when they placed her in that cold metal box and gave her the burial all good soldiers deserved. Except she wasn't a soldier anymore, she was his. She carried with her his life, and now the shell that remained breathed in and out and ate because Chiana told him to, but John Crichton was dead, just as surely as Aeryn Sun.  
  
But Aeryn Sun wasn't dead. From his small hiding place in the corner he watched her. Aeryn Sun was alive, she was working on one of the transport pods and her fluid movements captivated him. She was so like her. She was her and yet she wasn't. Her memories weren't the same as his Aeryn. In her mind, they had only shared one night on the fake Earth the Ancients had lured him to, but in John Crichton's mind he had shared countless nights with Aeryn.  
  
Together they had celebrated each other's bodies and revealed in each other. It was all he had dreamed about and more. God, she felt so right in his arms. Her soft raven hair would glide through his fingers as he stroked it in their bed. She would groan in pleasure as he entered her, and when she thought he wasn't looking he would notice a tiny tear slide down her cheek.  
  
Now they bed they once shared was cold, only warmed by his body. He couldn't force himself to move to her side. It belonged to her, and maybe if he prayed hard enough she would come back to occupy it. But that was just a dream. He had received a gift when Aeryn was returned to him once, but miracles only happen once and he had used up his along time ago.  
  
He glanced again at Aeryn. Maybe she had returned? There she stood in all her glory. He could see the longing in her eyes. He knew she wanted him. He remembered her frantic voice on Talyn as she tried to tell him why she was leaving with Crais. She had told him she loved him as Talyn starburst away. It was a declaration freely given, and he held it close to his hear for many solar days.  
  
But soon, the memory of the other Aeryn faded as the Aeryn that remained became more and more real to him. It seemed she turned a corner with their relationship and a once guarded young woman became free with her emotions. She became Aeryn Sun, and the one so far away became but a distant memory.  
  
Could he love the Aeryn Sun that remained? Could he betray his heart that vowed to love her forever? Could he look into her face and not remember only her? Was it fair to the Aeryn that remained?  
  
It was Aeryn who stood before him. Except for that half a cycle when she was away from him, they were the same woman. She still burnt a brand on his soul and caused his heart to beat a little faster when she was near.  
  
God, he wanted to touch her. He wasn't sure if she knew that he was watching her. She continued with her work, stopping every once and a while to wipe her hands on a white rag.  
  
She arched her back and rubbed the back of her hand across her forehead. Her movements sent a zing through his body. He felt himself grow hard, and it both excited him and disgusted him. Yes, John Crichton was still alive and even if his mind fought it his body knew he still loved Aeryn Sun. 


	3. The Twinning of Aeryn Sun Pt 3

Twin of My Heart (More Stories of the Twinning of Aeryn Sun) Author: blueaeryn Rating: PG  
  
Summary: Can John Open His Heart to the Remaining Aeryn Sun  
  
Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
His eyes follow her wherever she goes. She can feel his piercing glaze burning her skin, as she moves through daily life on Moya. Routine, that is what she craves, but there is no routine that can erase his presence.  
  
How she wishes that it could be like it was before. One John Crichton, one Aeryn Sun and one love. But there are fractures now. The remnants of a life led by her other self distorts reality, and it causes an awkwardness between them that may never be erased.  
  
Aeryn is sure when he looks at her, he sees the other Aeryn, the one he loved, the one that carried his child within her. But what of her and the child she may also carry in her womb? Would he reject a child she carried because it wasn't hers? Would he see it as a poor substitute?  
  
She had supported him the best she could. John had gotten it into his head to go to the command carrier after he heard that Scorpius was working on wormhole technology. They had all followed him in his fool-hearty plan, just like they always did, but not everyone came back. Crais and Talyn lost their lives, and they had destroyed the command carrier.  
  
Now, back on Moya, Aeryn had believed her support would lead John to realize his love for her. But he seemed even more distant. He hardly left her side, but he never spoke to her. Just scribbled wormhole equations on his arm with a black pen as she sat near her.  
  
She tried to talk to him, and he would listen to her but rarely spoke. It was tearing her apart to be so close to the man she loved, yet be so distant. It was fate plotting against them again, for just when she discovered she could truly express her love for John Crichton, that frelling twinning happened and he loved and lost the other her. He loved HER so much, Aeryn felt he didn't have anymore to give. She would settle for a small portion of his love, but she was unsure if he even had that to give.  
  
John couldn't seem to leave her side. Aeryn Sun invaded his soul. The woman standing before him followed him to the command carrier and had supported him in yet another stupid plan. He knew she loved him. He could feel it coursing through his blood, and his body ached at the sight of her.  
  
It was always like that with Aeryn. He could hardly breath when she was near, and he longed to pull her into his arms and kiss the soft spot of her neck. To run his fingers through her dark raven hair and lose himself in the volume of curls that fell down her shoulders.  
  
He stopped himself short of following through on his thoughts when another Aeryn came to mind. He could still see the uncertainty in her face when she told him she was pregnant. They hadn't had time to have the child DNA tested, but she had smiled and placed a hand on her stomach and assured him the child was his. She said she felt it.  
  
For the next few solar days, he had walked around Moya in a daze. The woman he loved more then life itself carried his child. He told himself that even if it turned out the child wasn't his biologically, it was his none-the- less, because it was a part of Aeryn. They were to be a family.  
  
Fate, however, had a different path for John Crichton. There would be no happy ever after, no questions of whether they should buy pink or blue. For Aeryn had been taken from him and her child with her. Yet, she still stood before him, the same dark hair, the same gray-blue eyes, and the same love in her heart.  
  
It was then he truly looked at her as she sat at the table cleaning her pulse pistol. Her actions were with the same fluid motions he could remember as Aeryn's. God, she was amazing, he thought. The same hitch in his breath came over him, and then a sense of calm followed.  
  
All this time he had been looking for a miracle, a sign. The twining of Aeryn Sun, and then this one's return was fate's way of giving him a second chance. But could he take it? 


	4. The Twinning of Aeryn Sun Pt 4

Twin in My Soul (More Stories of the Twinning of Aeryn Sun) Author: blueaeryn Rating: PG  
  
Summary: Aeryn Questions Herself and John  
  
Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
Aeryn lie in her quarters. The ship was quiet except for the regular noise anyone would live with, who made their home on a living ship. She was tired. Bone weary, but not from exertion, but from living with a ghost who permeated ever aspect of Moya. Every corner she turned she could feel her, even memories that she knew were hers, before the twinning, began to feel as if they belonged to someone else.  
  
Was she really Aeryn Sun? Surely if she was John Crichton could love her. His unwillingness to accept her caused doubt to sprout in her heart and it grew with increasing voraciousness until it began to overtake her. If she wasn't Aeryn Sun, then who was she?  
  
Her desperation for answers increased with the news she received today on the commerce planet they visited. She had found a surgeon who had been commissioned by the Peacekeepers, but had had went AWOL 10 cycles ago and had been on the run ever since. It took Aeryn a while to convince the surgeon to run the test, and to prove she wasn't a Peacekeeper anymore, but finally he conceded and performed an exam on her.  
  
The news he gave her both elated and destroyed Aeryn. He had confirmed what she believed. She was pregnant. Just like the other Aeryn she carried a child in her womb, a child that may or may not be John Crichton's.  
  
The surgeon asked if she wished the child to be released from stasis. He explained that it was an arduous procedure and if she didn't do it now, then it may be cycles before she found another surgeon to release the embryo. And if she waited too long and the seven cycles expired, then the embryo would be absorbed by her body and terminated naturally. He told Aeryn it was also the only way he could determine the paternity of the child.  
  
However, the child's paternity test would have two come two solar days after the procedure. Aeryn told him she needed time to think, and would return with her answer. She used the time to stroll through the market place, stopping periodically to absently stare at the products the vendors had to sell.  
  
Aeryn's decision would affect not only her, but also John and the child she carried. She felt so lonely. She longed for his arms. For him to wrap her in his embrace and stroke her head and kiss her temple, the way he did so many cycles ago when she admitted to killing Moya's first pilot. He had told her to cry, to let her emotions go. He had been the first person to show her that crying wasn't a sign of weakness. It was okay to feel and to be loved.  
  
The child, if it was his, was a product of their coupling on the planet the Ancients had created to resemble Earth. She wouldn't admit it then, but she had been frightened that night. She knew the next day held death if his kind came for her, and it was the first time she felt a sense of loss. For she wasn't ready to die, because there was something building between herself and John and she wanted to follow that path.  
  
So, when he had leaned over and kissed her shoulder and then placed a chaste kiss on her lips, she had opened to him in every way. At that moment it wasn't just recreation, a release of body fluids. It was even more then what she had felt for Velorek, for it touched her deep inside in a place she never knew existed.  
  
Now, Aeryn stood on the streets of the market contemplating where her life would go. Could she bring a child into the world that may be resented by its father, if it was John Crichton's progeny? Flashes of his smile, of him laughing, of him holding her came to mind, and she knew what she must do.  
  
With a sure gait she made her way back to the surgeon's facility. She informed him that she would like the stasis released and would return in two solar days for the next test. She then had to persuade the rest of Moya to stay two extra solar days.  
  
Aeryn was surprised at their reaction to her request. She hadn't told them about the pregnancy, just that she had seen a surgeon and that she required some extra test and would they mind waiting. They had told her no, and inquired upon her health, which shocked and delighted her. Maybe she could endear herself to them as well.  
  
John was nowhere to be found. For the past few solar days he had been absent from her sight. It hurt more then she would admit that he had retreated back to his shell, and she began to regret releasing the baby. But it was done, and Aeryn Sun was pregnant.  
  
Two solar days later, Aeryn returned to the surgeon. In a small vile was a brown strand of hair taken from Crichton's comb. She supplied it to the surgeon and lay upon a metal table as he extracted a syringe of fluid from her abdomen and then went over to a machine to run the test.  
  
Aeryn sat on the edge of the table swinging her leather-clad legs as he worked. The tension built within her and she lifted her thumb to her finger and bit the skin around her nail. After what seemed like an eternity he shut off the machine and walked back to her.  
  
"I have the results," he said in a clinical tone. "The sample you provided me matches the DNA strands of the child, they are a match."  
  
All of the emotions Aeryn had been bottling up released and tears flowed freely from her. They ran down her cheeks and dripped down her neck. She brushed them away with the palms of her hands and straightened up.  
  
"I see the news pleases you."  
  
Aeryn couldn't speak, so she just nodded her head in agreement.  
  
"Now, why don't you lie back and we will scan you one last time just to take a quick look at the child's development and you can be on your way."  
  
Aeryn did as he suggested, and he unzipped her vest and folded each end to the side. With a long scanner that looked like a wand, he placed it on her stomach and stroked it back and forth. He looked closer at the monitor and rubbed his eyes with his free hand and then peered at the screen again.  
  
"Is there a problem," Aeryn asked. She sat up leaning herself on her elbows to try and get a good look at what the surgeon was staring at.  
  
"No, no," he said patting her hand. "It is just that before it appeared you were carrying one embryo, but now there are two."  
  
"What are you saying?"  
  
"You carry twins. The split must have occurred after I released the stasis."  
  
"But they both belong to the man I gave you the sample of?"  
  
"Yes. Of course, it's just I have never seen this happen before. Usually the twinning process occurs prior to the stasis."  
  
Aeryn paid the surgeon and thanked him for his assistance and made her way back to Moya. She was in shock to learn that she carried two babies within her, and was puzzled by the surgeon's words.  
  
So now, she lay in her bed tossing and turning trying to decide how or if she should tell John about his children she carried. What was she going to do? How did her life get so frelled up and when was she going to get a chance at happiness?  
  
Soon fitful sleep claimed her and she drifted off. Not long afterward she found herself in the desert. It looked like the planet she had John had landed on when he needed his module fixed. Not far from her a woman came walking toward her. Aeryn felt a jolt of familiarity and as she drew closer she realized why. It was herself.  
  
The woman stopped in front of Aeryn and smiled. She lifted her hand and stroked Aeryn's cheek and tears formed in her eyes.  
  
"You will be good for him," she said. "John just needs time. He loves you. He just needs to remember. Don't give up on him."  
  
"I don't know how much longer I can wait," Aeryn said in a pleading tone. "I have others besides myself and him to think of now."  
  
Aeryn placed a protective hand on her stomach. "I am pregnant."  
  
"I know," the woman said. "You carry our children. Your child and mine, for fate has given my child a second chance. I died without being able to bring him into the world, but you will. You will bear two beautiful healthy sons. Our sons, but they need a father. Don't give up on John, Aeryn. Love him and he will come to you."  
  
With her last words the woman faded leaving Aeryn alone. She awoke in her bed drenched in sweat. Was it a dream, or was it true? Did John love her? Did she carry her child and that of her other self? How could she tell John? Could she wait on him? Or should she just leave and make a new life for herself and her sons? They were questions she needed to answer and the only way to do it was to confront John, and see if there was still love in his heart. 


	5. The Twinning of Aeryn Sun Pt 5

Twins of My Body (More Stories of the Twinning of Aeryn Sun) Author: blueaeryn Rating: PG  
  
Summary: John Makes a Decision That Changes the Course of Their Lives  
  
Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
She had visited a surgeon on the last commerce planet they visited. John had heard D'Argo and Chiana talking, and speculating why Aeryn would need to see one. They didn't even notice him lurking in the shadows, as he had become a fixture on Moya like the bioluminescents and the DRDs.  
  
John wondered himself about Aeryn's health, but he couldn't force himself to ask her. He had finally worked enough courage to inquire about her, but she had gone back down to the planet. He had heard it was for more tests, and it worried him even more.  
  
That had been 10 solar days ago. He watched her work and she seemed fine, however he did notice she seemed pale. If she were sick surely she would tell him. But why would she? He hadn't offered her an ounce of kindness since her return.  
  
All he could do was compare her to the one who had stayed on Moya. The one who had stayed with him, the one who loved him and held him close, but this version of Aeryn loved him too. He could see it in her eyes, even after all he had done to her she still carried that love for him but he wondered if she could ever express it.  
  
Every night he went to his quarters and crawled in bed and wrapped himself in the pillow she used to sleep on. He would wake her in the mornings by kissing her neck and she would laugh in that deep throaty way of hers as he trailed tiny kisses across her skin. She would turn her head to him and capture his mouth, and he wouldn't just kiss her, he would taste her. He tried to envelop himself inside her. He never wanted to let her go.  
  
God, he could still taste her on his lips. She was like a flower opening on the first day of spring. Never having known what it was like to express emotions like true love and passion, she had jumped into it with the same tenacity she did everything when she finally let herself open up. And John was there to witness the re-birth of Aeryn Sun.  
  
He didn't know if he could wait for this Aeryn to find that passion. What scared him the most is to love her again, and watch fate play its cruel trick on them. To give him a glimpse of heaven and snatch it away again, and then he would be back to where he was. At least now he had the pain and the memories to keep him company. To love her again and possibly lose her would kill him next time. He was sure of it.  
  
John rubbed his face with his hands. He was so tired. It was in these moments he just wanted to go home. He missed his family. He wondered what his dad was doing right now. Hell, he didn't even know what season it was, not to mention what year. And what of his sisters, his sister Susan and her husband and his nephew Bobby, and Olivia had she married? If she had, he wondered if he would like the guy. They probably thought he was dead, and in a way John Crichton was dead.  
  
That naïve boy so full of wonder died the moment he was swallowed by that wormhole. This place had changed him, hardened him, but with Aeryn he always found balance. She kept him sane, even when Scorpius' neural chip was slowing driving him insane. She was there to ease his fears and she was the one who rescued him from Scorpy's clutches. She always rescued him. She gave her life and the life of their child to save him. His poor miserable soul, that wasn't worth the death of Aeryn Sun.  
  
Tears that had been bottled up inside for so long began to flow from him. He slammed his fist on the table over and over again, and then laid his head down on the table. John didn't know how much longer he could take this. He was tearing himself apart, and his inability to open up to Aeryn was breaking her spirit.  
  
He could see a piece of her die each day, and he couldn't take her death again. Oh, she would still live, but what made her Aeryn, what he had seen her grow into was slowly slipping away. John couldn't allow himself to be the reason for her losing that, he wouldn't.  
  
Resolve to end this forced him from his seat and in search of Aeryn. He found her in maintenance bay tinkering with something. She had been doing that a lot lately, he was sure it was a way to keep her self busy.  
  
She didn't hear him enter the area, so he took a moment to stare at her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever known. Not just the physical beauty she possessed, but what was inside. A warrior with a heart much bigger then she realized. He could watch her for hours, and never get bored. She had this mesmerizing quality that could cause a man to drop to his knees and pledge undying love for her.  
  
"Aeryn," John finally said. The name on his lips felt good, but it also put another crack in his heart. After this he may never say the name again.  
  
"John," Aeryn answered looking up at him. "Are you alright?" John hadn't approached her for a conversation since they left the command carrier. It both worried and elated her.  
  
'I have to talk to you," John said moving toward her. "I have to tell you something."  
  
"I am glad you came," Aeryn said. She moved to his side and reached her hand out to touch him but stopped herself. She could tell he wasn't ready for that and pulled her hand back. "I have something to tell you too."  
  
"Can I go first," John asked. Aeryn shook her head yes.  
  
"I have to go."  
  
John's words sent a rumbling through Aeryn's body. Did he say what she thought he said?  
  
"Wh .. What," Aeryn asked.  
  
"I am leaving Moya," John said rubbing his hand behind his neck. "I have to go away for a while. My presence is tearing you apart as much as your presence is ripping me to shreads."  
  
Aeryn's protective instincts kicked in. She couldn't allow John to roam the universe un-guarded. He was being hunted by Peacekeepers and now Scarrens, and he was a frail human after all, not matter how adept he had become. She wouldn't let him. She would go.  
  
"No, John, I will go." It was only fair. While she was off on Talyn this had been his home with HER. She was the outsider.  
  
"I can't and won't let you do that Aeryn," John said scowling. "Please, let me do this for you."  
  
"What are you doing, John" Aeryn replied angrily. "Leaving. Leaving all of us."  
  
"Damn it, Aeryn I am doing it for your own good. I can't stay here. Her ghost haunts me, and your presence mocks what we had."  
  
John's words were like a dagger in her heart. She could feel the blade plunge into her skin and rest in the organ that gave her life, just as surely as his words had taken it away. He really didn't love her. Could never love her. He had love only for HER. That emotion must have dried up within him, leaving a barren place where his heart used to be.  
  
"Then I guess you should leave then." The cold, hard soldier she had been breed to be took over. It was her only line of defense. She was so raw inside that every word he said was like re-opening a fresh wound, and she had to find a way to stop the bleeding.  
  
"I just need to get a way for a while," John tried to tell her. "Clear my head. Figure some things out, and I can't do it here."  
  
"I understand."  
  
John watched her expression. The chilly exterior Aeryn projected cut him to the bone. So, she still held her emotions close. She hadn't learned to open herself up. How could he open himself to this Aeryn, when she still held to the Peacekeeper's doctrine of not showing emotions? It was the right decision to leave, to give themselves some time and space, and not the kind of space outside.  
  
Emotions she had fought all he life to hold in check were raging inside Aeryn as John spoke. She loved this man beyond hope, and he was leaving her. She had tried to show him how much she loved him. How much she needed him. Aeryn thought back to the day she left with Crais on Talyn. At the time she felt it was her duty to help to protect Talyn, because she loved the ship and she owed so much to his mother Moya. Yet her responsibility, her feelings of duty had cost her a chance with John. Happiness, love, companionship were fading before her eyes, and not even the tightest grip could keep it at her side.  
  
"Where will you go," Aeryn asked.  
  
"There is an area of space I have heard about that has a nexus of wormholes," John said as he paced the room. "I am going to check it out for a while in my module."  
  
He was still searching for a way home. She could see it in his eyes, and this time when he found he she knew he wouldn't come back and ask her to come with him. He would fly down that wormhole and out of her life for good.  
  
"Are you, will you ." Aeryn couldn't force herself to ask the question.  
  
"I will come back, Aeryn," John answered her. "I don't know when. But I promise I will come back."  
  
Aeryn let her emotions bubble over. She rushed to him and placed her hand on his cheek. "Don't go," she pleaded.  
  
John snatched her hand from his cheek and kissed the inside of her palm. It was the first contact he had with her in more solar days then he cared to count. She felt good. So warm and soft, but he shut that feeling out.  
  
"I have to," John said. "Please don't make this harder on me then it already is." John leaned into her and kissed her on the lips. It was so soft that Aeryn would later believe the kiss was dream if not for the taste of him on her lips.  
  
With all the strength he could muster, John turned his back on Aeryn and left the maintenance bay. When his silhouette faded from sight, Aeryn collapsed to the floor and cried. She rocked back and forth and cursed the day she had ever met John Crichton.  
  
Not long after John had left her side she heard Pilot give John the okay to leave Moya. He must have said his goodbyes to the others, packed his stuff quickly in a hurry to get away.  
  
The tears came again, and she cried so hard her whole body began to ache. It was then she thought of the children she carried within her. Her sons, Crichton's sons, their sons and she cried again. Aeryn placed her palm on her abdomen and stroked where the babies rested, nestled safely within her.  
  
"Aeryn," Chiana's voice forced Aeryn to look up. The young Nebari wore a shocked expression when she saw the tears strolling down Aeryn's cheek. "Hey, you okay?"  
  
Aeryn couldn't speak, and just shook her head no. Unable to look at Chiana, Aeryn placed her head in her hands and collapsed to the floor wrapping her self into a ball.  
  
Chiana rushed to Aeryn and knelt beside her. In small soothing circles, Chiana rubbed Aeryn's back in a calming manner.  
  
"Hey, it's going to be alright," Chiana told her. "Crichton will be back. He loves you, and he will be back."  
  
Aeryn looked at Chiana with quiet resolve. "He doesn't love me, he loved HER."  
  
"That's just stupid. You are the same person. You're Aeryn Sun."  
  
"Not in his mind. It ate John up so bad he had to leave to get away from it."  
  
"Like I said, he will be back."  
  
"He may never return, and I don't know what to do?"  
  
"That doesn't sound like you, Aeryn," Chiana said as she rubbed Aeryn's shoulder. "Where is that take-charge soldier?"  
  
"She has been replaced by a worried mother-to-be."  
  
"You're going to have a baby,"Chiana asked after a few microts of silence. "Truly?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"And that frelling Crichton just abandoned you," Chiana asked jumping up to her feet. "That doesn't sound like him."  
  
"I . I didn't tell him," Aeryn told her. "I couldn't tell him. I didn't want him stay because of the babies."  
  
"Babies?"  
  
"Yes, I am having twins."  
  
"Wow, that is really drad."  
  
"And frightening."  
  
"Don't worry about anything," Chiana said in a resolute voice. "Me, D'Argo and Rygel will be here for you. We love you Aeryn, and we will help you through this."  
  
Chiana's admission that they cared about her took Aeryn by surprise. She thought it was the other Aeryn they loved, but maybe it was Aeryn Sun. No matter which one it was, they loved AERYN SUN. It was a daunting resolution, and gave her the courage to face what was ahead of her. She had resigned herself to raising her sons alone, and would tell them of their father. A man she had loved with all her heart, who had taught her the meaning of the words love and compassion. Words she would pass onto them, and raise to be strong men, just like her beloved John Crichton.  
  
After Chiana left, Aeryn made her way to command. It was empty and she welcomed the solitude. She walked to the view screen and stared out into the darkness. Somewhere out there was John Crichton flying in his battered module. She reached her hand out to him and closed her fist.  
  
"I love you, John Crichton.," Aeryn said into the darkness. "Come back to us when you are ready. When you are healed. Your sons need a father, and I need the man I love." 


	6. The Twinning of Aeryn Sun Pt 6

Your Twins, My Twins (More Stories of the Twinning of Aeryn Sun) Author: blueaeryn Rating: PG  
  
Summary: John Seeks Forgiveness  
  
Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
It was good to be back on Moya, but John felt a difference. His friends were happy to see him, and were very cordial, but there was a distance between them. Something he couldn't put his finger on, but he still felt.  
  
Did they blame him for abandoning Aeryn? If they didn't they should, because he blamed himself. After meeting the boys, John collected his meager belongings and returned them to his quarters, which looked like he had never left. The bed was made and looked inviting but John couldn't sleep. All he could think about was Aeryn and his sons, and what he could do to win her back, to put his family back together again. Hell, they probably had a better chance of putting Humpty-Dumpty back together, John thought.  
  
Slinging his bag in the corner, John walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. Unlacing his boots, he took them off and tossed them over next to his bag. His right sock had a hole in it and he looked at his big toe peeking through. When was the last time he bought a new pair? It must have been a cycle ago on Tarrask. That tiny little commerce planet where he had hid from the Peacekeeper squad that was chasing him.  
  
John was about to lie back on the bed when he heard his door open. "Hey, Crichton," Chiana said lurking in the doorway.  
  
"Hey Chi." John smiled turning to sit on the bed with his legs crossed. Chiana wandered into the room and sat on the bed next to him.  
  
"It's good to see you again." Chiana rubbed her finger across John's hand and then took his in hers. "We've missed you."  
  
"I've missed you all too," John admitted. He and Chiana had such a strange relationship. She was part little sister and part every man's fantasy. There was an invisible line between them, one that would never be crossed. He loved Aeryn and she knew he loved Aeryn, but when Chiana always told him she loved him, John knew that one nudge one push was all Chiana would need to go after him. He was glad there was an invisible line.  
  
"Where ya' been Crichton?" It was the same question Aeryn had asked him.  
  
"Running, Chi, just runnin'."  
  
"From what?"  
  
"Peacekeepers, Scarrens, myself." John closed his eyes trying to shut out all he had seen and done. Would he ever be free?  
  
"Well, you missed a lot around her." Chiana's expression grew serious and she glared at him.  
  
"So, you're pissed at me too?"  
  
"Yeah," Chiana said after thinking about it. "Yeah, I am."  
  
Chiana had been surprised to learn John had left three cycles ago. Maybe she wouldn't be so upset with him if she hadn't been there to console Aeryn after he left. It was strange holding Aeryn while she cried, so unlike the stoic ex-peacekeeper she had grown to love. It scared her to see Aeryn so lost, and her anger for John Crichton bubbled over. He had done this. Chiana remembered how John used to spout to Aeryn about not bottling up her emotions, about love and compassion, and once she finally came around he left her.  
  
Chiana could see how the death of the other Aeryn had taken its toll on John. It had torn all of them apart, but when this Aeryn returned, it was like a gift. Everyone could see it but him.  
  
Then Aeryn told them about her pregnancy. Well, Aeryn told Chiana and then she told everyone else. Her, D'Argo and Rygel rallied around Aeryn. The pregnancy had been hard on her. Chiana had learned from Aeryn that she had discovered she and Crichton were compatible when they did the taste test after leaving the royal planet, but it still didn't take into account a Sebaccean carrying a half human child.  
  
It wasn't the fact that she was carrying twins, even though near the end it was hard for Aeryn to walk because of her girth. No it was the temperature of the boys and how it affected Aeryn's inability to regulate her temperature. They might have lost her and the boys if not for Pilot, who found a cooling room in Moya that helped keep Aeryn's temperature down. She spent the last third of a cycle of her pregnancy there, and she was none to happy. Oh, Aeryn would do anything to keep her children safe, it was just the feeling of being cooped up and useless that got her frustrated and almost unbearable to live with.  
  
When the boys were born, though, they all decided it had been worth it. Jack and Jace were the best thing that every happened on Moya. They brought a needed touch of life and renewal to Moya, after all the death they had witnessed. They were truly amazing, and Chiana was quite proud to be named an honorary aunt, even though Aeryn said she would keep a close eye on her to make sure Chiana didn't teach the boys some of her bad habits.  
  
'So, how pissed is pissed," John asked bringing Chiana back to the present.  
  
Chiana moved from her spot on the bed and stood walking over to the far end of the room. "I use to really look up to you, Crichton," she admitted. "At first I hated all your moral dren you tried to throw on me, but then I began to see what it meant to care for people and be a part of the group. To be a family."  
  
"In a way, we are a family." John slid his feet off the bed and braced his hands on his knees. "A weird kind of family, but a family none the less."  
  
"Well, you abandoned your family when we needed you the most." Chiana took a deep breath and continued. "You abandoned Aeryn. You said you would never leave, and you did. Why, Crichton? Why?"  
  
"God, am I going to be roasted over the coals for this forever," John said jumping from the bed. "First Aeryn and now you. I know I screwed up, I know that. But I had to get away. Aeryn was dead, I watched her die, and I lost everything that day. Can't anyone understand that?"  
  
"All I know is that you got a second chance and you flushed it out an air lock. I have watched you and Aeryn fight for two cycles to be together. I always knew you were meant to be together, and I thought you did too."  
  
"Chiana, it was hard okay." John rubbed his hand behind his neck and shook his head. "Seeing her and knowing she wasn't the one who had opened up to me. She was so cold."  
  
"Why the frell do you think she was like that?"  
  
"Because she wasn't her."  
  
"You are an idiot, Crichton. What do you think happened when you left?"  
  
"Things went on, Aeryn had the boys."  
  
"Yeah, things went on, after Aeryn almost fell apart. I was so used to her being this tough ex-peacekeeper who could handle anything, but you leaving almost killed her. The only thing that kept her together was the impending birth of the twins, and that wasn't an easy task in itself."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I shouldn't be telling you. It is Aeryn's story."  
  
"Chiana!" John screamed her name in frustration.  
  
"She had a touch of heat delirium," Chiana admitted. "It wasn't a bad case, but it put her life in peril for a time." Chiana continued the story, telling John about the third of a cycle Aeryn spent in the cooling chamber Pilot had found.  
  
"She almost died." John said the words more to himself then to Chiana. "I almost lost her again and didn't even know it."  
  
"So, you see her as Aeryn now?" Chiana's voice held a hint of protectiveness, and it pleased John to know they had rallied around her, even if it meant he was being raked over the.  
  
"Yeah, it has always been about Aeryn," John said with a wide grin on his face. "I was just too stupid and full of pain to see it before."  
  
"What are you going to do about it?"  
  
Good question. What was he going to do? "I guess I will have to prove myself to Aeryn. That I won't be leaving again. That I love her and I am ready to be a family."  
  
"Good answer." Chiana looked at John and smiled and walked out of the room.  
  
"Damn, when did she become so smart," John said aloud.  
  
After John's talk with Chiana it fueled his need to talk with Aeryn again. He knew he should leave her alone to stew and to think, but he had isolated himself from her for three cycles and he wanted to just be near her.  
  
"Pilot, where's Aeryn," John asked his old friend into the comms.  
  
"She is in the hanger bay preparing the prowler to leave."  
  
"Leave? Where is she going?"  
  
"Down to the planet below."  
  
John took off down the passageway in a quick jog. He wanted to catch up with her before she left. He had to catch up with her.  
  
Aeryn was completing her pre-flight check when John skidded to a stop in the hanger. She turned when she heard John enter, and threw him an icy glare.  
  
"Aeryn, are you going somewhere?" John moved closer to her and stopped at her side.  
  
"Jace isn't feeling well, and when he is sick he loves maxallion sweet bread," Aeryn informed John. "Pilot discovered this planet is known for it and I was going down to purchase some for him."  
  
Aeryn's revelation of one of his son's favorite treats hit John square in the stomach. He didn't even know his son's likes and dislikes, yet another regret that would hang around his neck like an albatross.  
  
"Mind if I go with you?" John placed his hand on the prowler and leaned over to look her in the face as Aeryn was bending into the cockpit to flip a switch.  
  
Aeryn lifted her head up and raised her eyebrow. "So, you think you can just come back and flash one of your grins and I am suppose to forgive you?"  
  
"No, I can't expect that," John said. "But like I said before, I would like a chance to make things up to you."  
  
"Like the chance you gave me?" Aeryn stepped away from the prowler and picked up a tool from the workbench. "You ruled me a copy from the first moment I stepped back onto Moya. You made it perfectly clear that you only had enough love for one Aeryn Sun, and it wasn't me."  
  
Her words rang true and hit home. She was right. He had seen her as the copy. A pale comparison to the Aeryn who had shared his bed and died.  
  
"You're right but I have."  
  
"Changed," Aeryn interrupted him.  
  
"Yeah, changed," John answered. "I would just like to prove it."  
  
"I can't do it, Crichton." Aeryn brushed by him and moved the ladder over to the prowler. "It was all your fault you know. You taught me how to feel, how to be more, and now I want more. I'm just not sure you can give it to me."  
  
"Aeryn, please."  
  
"Please, what?" Aeryn said with a tear in her eye. "Forgive you? Let you back into my life? I don't know if I can."  
  
"But what about the boys?"  
  
"They are your sons, and I want you to know them. They are your twins, my twins. Our twins. They need their father. I'm just not sure if I do."  
  
Aeryn settled herself into the cockpit and shut the canopy. She turned her head to stare at John and then turned back to the task at hand. John stepped back when she powered up the prowler. He walked behind the safety of the hanger doors as the door to space was opened and Aeryn maneuvered the prowler out of Moya, setting a course to the planet.  
  
John always had hope, and it had helped him endure all the universe had thrown at him. He just wasn't sure that unfailing hope could give him Aeryn back.  
  
"Commander Crichton," Pilot's voice interrupted John's tickle fest he was having with his son Jack. Jace was lying in the bed nursing his slight cold and John had appointed himself nanny and nurse to the boys until Aeryn returned.  
  
"What is it Pilot?"  
  
"Aeryn's prowler has just arrived in the hanger, but there is no communication from Officer Sun," Pilot said with a hint of distress in his voice. "I have tried to contact her but she doesn't respond."  
  
"I'm on my way," John informed Pilot. He pried Jack's arms from around his neck and set the little boy down on the floor. "Chiana, can you come and watch the boys?" John darted from the room as Chiana came around the corner headed for the twin's quarters.  
  
"What's the matter, Crichton? I heard Pilot's message."  
  
"No time, Chi," John said as he turned his head and ran down the passageway.  
  
John was breathing deeply when he reached Aeryn's prowler. The ship had powered down, but no one had attempted to exit the vessel. Pushing the exterior hatch button, John watched in anticipation as the canopy opened.  
  
Aeryn was inside but she was lifeless. Not again he thought as he surveyed her injuries. She had a large gash on her right temple and blood was seeping from the wound in a dark red river. John touched her head to check the extent of the cut when he noticed blood was also flowing from her ears.  
  
"Aeryn," John said softly as he leaned into the prowler. "Aeryn, can you hear me?"  
  
Aeryn felt a gentle hand on her forehead and it brought her from the deep sleep she had fallen into. After the encounter she had made it to the prowler in time to plot a course before she had succumbed to the blackness of unconsciousness.  
  
Opening her eyes slowly, Aeryn was aware of the blinding pain in her head and she felt something warm trickling down her face. Blood from her wound she thought. As her vision cleared she saw John hovering over her. At first she thought she was again having one of her dreams, but then she remembered he had returned. He was the reason she was in this mess.  
  
John was brushing the hair from her face and it appeared he was saying something to her. Aeryn watched his lips move, but couldn't make out what he was saying. Focus, Aeryn, she told herself, let your head clear.  
  
Closing her eyes to get her bearings, she opened them again to John, but realized a frightening fact. John was speaking but she couldn't hear him. She couldn't hear a frelling thing. She was deaf to his voice and everything around her.  
  
. 


	7. Your Twins, My Twins

Your Twins, My Twins (More Stories of the Twinning of Aeryn Sun) Author: blueaeryn Rating: PG  
  
Summary: John Seeks Forgiveness  
  
Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
It was good to be back on Moya, but John felt a difference. His friends were happy to see him, and were very cordial, but there was a distance between them. Something he couldn't put his finger on, but he still felt.  
  
Did they blame him for abandoning Aeryn? If they didn't they should, because he blamed himself. After meeting the boys, John collected his meager belongings and returned them to his quarters, which looked like he had never left. The bed was made and looked inviting but John couldn't sleep. All he could think about was Aeryn and his sons, and what he could do to win her back, to put his family back together again. Hell, they probably had a better chance of putting Humpty-Dumpty back together, John thought.  
  
Slinging his bag in the corner, John walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. Unlacing his boots, he took them off and tossed them over next to his bag. His right sock had a hole in it and he looked at his big toe peeking through. When was the last time he bought a new pair? It must have been a cycle ago on Tarrask. That tiny little commerce planet where he had hid from the Peacekeeper squad that was chasing him.  
  
John was about to lie back on the bed when he heard his door open. "Hey, Crichton," Chiana said lurking in the doorway.  
  
"Hey Chi." John smiled turning to sit on the bed with his legs crossed. Chiana wandered into the room and sat on the bed next to him.  
  
"It's good to see you again." Chiana rubbed her finger across John's hand and then took his in hers. "We've missed you."  
  
"I've missed you all too," John admitted. He and Chiana had such a strange relationship. She was part little sister and part every man's fantasy. There was an invisible line between them, one that would never be crossed. He loved Aeryn and she knew he loved Aeryn, but when Chiana always told him she loved him, John knew that one nudge one push was all Chiana would need to go after him. He was glad there was an invisible line.  
  
"Where ya' been Crichton?" It was the same question Aeryn had asked him.  
  
"Running, Chi, just runnin'."  
  
"From what?"  
  
"Peacekeepers, Scarrens, myself." John closed his eyes trying to shut out all he had seen and done. Would he ever be free?  
  
"Well, you missed a lot around her." Chiana's expression grew serious and she glared at him.  
  
"So, you're pissed at me too?"  
  
"Yeah," Chiana said after thinking about it. "Yeah, I am."  
  
Chiana had been surprised to learn John had left three cycles ago. Maybe she wouldn't be so upset with him if she hadn't been there to console Aeryn after he left. It was strange holding Aeryn while she cried, so unlike the stoic ex-peacekeeper she had grown to love. It scared her to see Aeryn so lost, and her anger for John Crichton bubbled over. He had done this. Chiana remembered how John used to spout to Aeryn about not bottling up her emotions, about love and compassion, and once she finally came around he left her.  
  
Chiana could see how the death of the other Aeryn had taken its toll on John. It had torn all of them apart, but when this Aeryn returned, it was like a gift. Everyone could see it but him.  
  
Then Aeryn told them about her pregnancy. Well, Aeryn told Chiana and then she told everyone else. Her, D'Argo and Rygel rallied around Aeryn. The pregnancy had been hard on her. Chiana had learned from Aeryn that she had discovered she and Crichton were compatible when they did the taste test after leaving the royal planet, but it still didn't take into account a Sebaccean carrying a half human child.  
  
It wasn't the fact that she was carrying twins, even though near the end it was hard for Aeryn to walk because of her girth. No it was the temperature of the boys and how it affected Aeryn's inability to regulate her temperature. They might have lost her and the boys if not for Pilot, who found a cooling room in Moya that helped keep Aeryn's temperature down. She spent the last third of a cycle of her pregnancy there, and she was none to happy. Oh, Aeryn would do anything to keep her children safe, it was just the feeling of being cooped up and useless that got her frustrated and almost unbearable to live with.  
  
When the boys were born, though, they all decided it had been worth it. Jack and Jace were the best thing that every happened on Moya. They brought a needed touch of life and renewal to Moya, after all the death they had witnessed. They were truly amazing, and Chiana was quite proud to be named an honorary aunt, even though Aeryn said she would keep a close eye on her to make sure Chiana didn't teach the boys some of her bad habits.  
  
'So, how pissed is pissed," John asked bringing Chiana back to the present.  
  
Chiana moved from her spot on the bed and stood walking over to the far end of the room. "I use to really look up to you, Crichton," she admitted. "At first I hated all your moral dren you tried to throw on me, but then I began to see what it meant to care for people and be a part of the group. To be a family."  
  
"In a way, we are a family." John slid his feet off the bed and braced his hands on his knees. "A weird kind of family, but a family none the less."  
  
"Well, you abandoned your family when we needed you the most." Chiana took a deep breath and continued. "You abandoned Aeryn. You said you would never leave, and you did. Why, Crichton? Why?"  
  
"God, am I going to be roasted over the coals for this forever," John said jumping from the bed. "First Aeryn and now you. I know I screwed up, I know that. But I had to get away. Aeryn was dead, I watched her die, and I lost everything that day. Can't anyone understand that?"  
  
"All I know is that you got a second chance and you flushed it out an air lock. I have watched you and Aeryn fight for two cycles to be together. I always knew you were meant to be together, and I thought you did too."  
  
"Chiana, it was hard okay." John rubbed his hand behind his neck and shook his head. "Seeing her and knowing she wasn't the one who had opened up to me. She was so cold."  
  
"Why the frell do you think she was like that?"  
  
"Because she wasn't her."  
  
"You are an idiot, Crichton. What do you think happened when you left?"  
  
"Things went on, Aeryn had the boys."  
  
"Yeah, things went on, after Aeryn almost fell apart. I was so used to her being this tough ex-peacekeeper who could handle anything, but you leaving almost killed her. The only thing that kept her together was the impending birth of the twins, and that wasn't an easy task in itself."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"I shouldn't be telling you. It is Aeryn's story."  
  
"Chiana!" John screamed her name in frustration.  
  
"She had a touch of heat delirium," Chiana admitted. "It wasn't a bad case, but it put her life in peril for a time." Chiana continued the story, telling John about the third of a cycle Aeryn spent in the cooling chamber Pilot had found.  
  
"She almost died." John said the words more to himself then to Chiana. "I almost lost her again and didn't even know it."  
  
"So, you see her as Aeryn now?" Chiana's voice held a hint of protectiveness, and it pleased John to know they had rallied around her, even if it meant he was being raked over the.  
  
"Yeah, it has always been about Aeryn," John said with a wide grin on his face. "I was just too stupid and full of pain to see it before."  
  
"What are you going to do about it?"  
  
Good question. What was he going to do? "I guess I will have to prove myself to Aeryn. That I won't be leaving again. That I love her and I am ready to be a family."  
  
"Good answer." Chiana looked at John and smiled and walked out of the room.  
  
"Damn, when did she become so smart," John said aloud.  
  
After John's talk with Chiana it fueled his need to talk with Aeryn again. He knew he should leave her alone to stew and to think, but he had isolated himself from her for three cycles and he wanted to just be near her.  
  
"Pilot, where's Aeryn," John asked his old friend into the comms.  
  
"She is in the hanger bay preparing the prowler to leave."  
  
"Leave? Where is she going?"  
  
"Down to the planet below."  
  
John took off down the passageway in a quick jog. He wanted to catch up with her before she left. He had to catch up with her.  
  
Aeryn was completing her pre-flight check when John skidded to a stop in the hanger. She turned when she heard John enter, and threw him an icy glare.  
  
"Aeryn, are you going somewhere?" John moved closer to her and stopped at her side.  
  
"Jace isn't feeling well, and when he is sick he loves maxallion sweet bread," Aeryn informed John. "Pilot discovered this planet is known for it and I was going down to purchase some for him."  
  
Aeryn's revelation of one of his son's favorite treats hit John square in the stomach. He didn't even know his son's likes and dislikes, yet another regret that would hang around his neck like an albatross.  
  
"Mind if I go with you?" John placed his hand on the prowler and leaned over to look her in the face as Aeryn was bending into the cockpit to flip a switch.  
  
Aeryn lifted her head up and raised her eyebrow. "So, you think you can just come back and flash one of your grins and I am suppose to forgive you?"  
  
"No, I can't expect that," John said. "But like I said before, I would like a chance to make things up to you."  
  
"Like the chance you gave me?" Aeryn stepped away from the prowler and picked up a tool from the workbench. "You ruled me a copy from the first moment I stepped back onto Moya. You made it perfectly clear that you only had enough love for one Aeryn Sun, and it wasn't me."  
  
Her words rang true and hit home. She was right. He had seen her as the copy. A pale comparison to the Aeryn who had shared his bed and died.  
  
"You're right but I have."  
  
"Changed," Aeryn interrupted him.  
  
"Yeah, changed," John answered. "I would just like to prove it."  
  
"I can't do it, Crichton." Aeryn brushed by him and moved the ladder over to the prowler. "It was all your fault you know. You taught me how to feel, how to be more, and now I want more. I'm just not sure you can give it to me."  
  
"Aeryn, please."  
  
"Please, what?" Aeryn said with a tear in her eye. "Forgive you? Let you back into my life? I don't know if I can."  
  
"But what about the boys?"  
  
"They are your sons, and I want you to know them. They are your twins, my twins. Our twins. They need their father. I'm just not sure if I do."  
  
Aeryn settled herself into the cockpit and shut the canopy. She turned her head to stare at John and then turned back to the task at hand. John stepped back when she powered up the prowler. He walked behind the safety of the hanger doors as the door to space was opened and Aeryn maneuvered the prowler out of Moya, setting a course to the planet.  
  
John always had hope, and it had helped him endure all the universe had thrown at him. He just wasn't sure that unfailing hope could give him Aeryn back.  
  
"Commander Crichton," Pilot's voice interrupted John's tickle fest he was having with his son Jack. Jace was lying in the bed nursing his slight cold and John had appointed himself nanny and nurse to the boys until Aeryn returned.  
  
"What is it Pilot?"  
  
"Aeryn's prowler has just arrived in the hanger, but there is no communication from Officer Sun," Pilot said with a hint of distress in his voice. "I have tried to contact her but she doesn't respond."  
  
"I'm on my way," John informed Pilot. He pried Jack's arms from around his neck and set the little boy down on the floor. "Chiana, can you come and watch the boys?" John darted from the room as Chiana came around the corner headed for the twin's quarters.  
  
"What's the matter, Crichton? I heard Pilot's message."  
  
"No time, Chi," John said as he turned his head and ran down the passageway.  
  
John was breathing deeply when he reached Aeryn's prowler. The ship had powered down, but no one had attempted to exit the vessel. Pushing the exterior hatch button, John watched in anticipation as the canopy opened.  
  
Aeryn was inside but she was lifeless. Not again he thought as he surveyed her injuries. She had a large gash on her right temple and blood was seeping from the wound in a dark red river. John touched her head to check the extent of the cut when he noticed blood was also flowing from her ears.  
  
"Aeryn," John said softly as he leaned into the prowler. "Aeryn, can you hear me?"  
  
Aeryn felt a gentle hand on her forehead and it brought her from the deep sleep she had fallen into. After the encounter she had made it to the prowler in time to plot a course before she had succumbed to the blackness of unconsciousness.  
  
Opening her eyes slowly, Aeryn was aware of the blinding pain in her head and she felt something warm trickling down her face. Blood from her wound she thought. As her vision cleared she saw John hovering over her. At first she thought she was again having one of her dreams, but then she remembered he had returned. He was the reason she was in this mess.  
  
John was brushing the hair from her face and it appeared he was saying something to her. Aeryn watched his lips move, but couldn't make out what he was saying. Focus, Aeryn, she told herself, let your head clear.  
  
Closing her eyes to get her bearings, she opened them again to John, but realized a frightening fact. John was speaking but she couldn't hear him. She couldn't hear a frelling thing. She was deaf to his voice and everything around her.  
  
. 


	8. Twins No More

Twin No More (More Stories of the Twinning of Aeryn Sun) Author: blueaeryn Rating: PG  
  
Summary: Decisions are made  
  
Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
It wasn't until John had carried Aeryn to her quarters and laid her on her bed that he noticed something was wrong. All the way there he kept talking to her, asking her how this happened, but she didn't say a word. Just looked at him with a hazy stare, and shaking her head.  
  
After lying her down, he had turned to pick up a cloth to use as a compress on the gash on her head when he knocked over a metal drinking glass on the table. The glass hit the floor with a clink that reverberated across the room, but Aeryn didn't even turn her head to the sound. She couldn't hear.  
  
John tended to her wounds and when he looked back he noticed Chiana and D'Argo standing in the doorway. They hovered awaiting news, and he smiled at them. "She's gonna be okay." He tried to sound positive when he was really shaking from inside and out.  
  
Placing his hand on her chin, John turned Aeryn's face to him. In slow enunciated words John asked, "What happened?"  
  
She shook her head letting him know she couldn't understand him. Aeryn placed a finger to her left ear and then waved her hand back and forth telling him she couldn't hear anything.  
  
"I know," John said placing his hand on her forehead. "Chiana, can you look after her for a microt? I am going to talk to Pilot."  
  
"Sure," Chiana said walking to stand beside Aeryn's bed.  
  
John walked out of the room taking D'Argo by the arm. "D', come with me." D'Argo followed his friend obediently as they made their way to Pilot's den.  
  
"What is going on, John?" Even with D'Argo's long strides he was finding it difficult to keep up with John and he found himself breaking into a jog to move shoulder to shoulder with him.  
  
"Aeryn had some kind of run-in with someone on the planet below I'm sure of it," John said turning his head to D'Argo as they went down another tier. "She came back all beat up and she can't hear. I am going to talk to Pilot to see if he can help me put something together to communicate with her."  
  
John never really appreciated the translator microbes until now. Even though all his friends were true aliens to him, they had seemed human because they could communicate. Words were his savior as he could express his feelings with them, but now that was failing him. He could understand basic written word, but it would take forever if Aeryn attempted to write down what happened to her. John hoped Pilot and Moya had the capability to produce just what he needed.  
  
After talking with Pilot about his plan, they had put together a device that would take the written word and transfer it into speech. It was crude and unreliable but it was better then nothing.  
  
John lugged the device back to Aeryn's quarters. When he entered, he noticed Chiana had bandaged the gash on her head and Aeryn was sitting up in bed. The boys had taken up residence on each side of her, and they were trying to talk to her, but unfortunately she couldn't hear a word they were saying.  
  
The difficult task was trying to explain to Aeryn, without words, how to use the device. John picked each boys up in turn, and placed him on the floor, and Chiana moved down to the floor with them distracting them while John worked with Aeryn.  
  
He sat on the edge of the bed and placed the device on Aeryn's lap. John typed a few words in and then they were transferred into speech, of course it fell on deaf ears as far as Aeryn was concerned, but John opened his mouth to represent speech after he had typed it in. Aeryn shook her head to acknowledge she understand him.  
  
Luckily the machine worked in reverse and John used his limited knowledge of the Sebaccean alphabet to type, what happened? Aeryn shook her head and began typing a response.  
  
Her words were transferred to speech and her recounting of the story caused John's blood to turn to ice. "I was on my way back to the planet after purchasing the sweet bread I told you about. A few metres from the prowler I noticed a Peacekeeper commando unit. They were placing a wanted beacon in the square and I hung back in the shadows to see who it was. It turned out to be a good and bad decision, because the beacon was offering a reward for you, and I knew I had to get out of there. Unfortunately, it appears my peacekeeper training is failing me because I didn't hear the two commandos coming up behind me."  
  
Aeryn stopped typing and flexed her fingers. She looked into John's eyes and could see the guilt there and shook her head. "No guilt," she typed before going back to her story.  
  
"They pulled their pulse pistols and fired at me, but I ducked around a store owners kiosk. With my position I pinned them down, but was still close enough to hear what they were saying. They had recognized me, and said I could be useful in capturing you. After a few exchanges I was able to make a run for it, but I didn't get far. The duo shot a barrel of fuel that exploded behind me. I guess they didn't realize the explosion would be so great and it came back into them and incinerated them, and shoved me into the wall of a near-by building. When I awoke, I realized I had hit my head pretty hard and fought blacking out to make it to the prowler and try to get back here. I guess the explosion caused the hearing loss."  
  
Finished, Aeryn sat the device to the side of the bed and pushed herself up further. She touched the bandage on her head and realized the pain was intensifying again. John just stared at her and she could see that he still let the guilt feed on him even though she told him not to blame himself.  
  
John took her hand in his and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. Aeryn closed her eyes to soak in the feeling of his touch and so wished she could hear the words she was sure he was saying. She felt his finger brush her cheek and she smiled. His touch felt like home and before she knew it, that peaceful feeling led to her falling into a deep sleep.  
  
"John, Pilot just said you asked him to plot a new course," D'Argo said storming into command. "What are you doing?"  
  
"When I was zipping around the universe I landed on a few planets and logged them," John said pacing. "Callous is a medical planet. I am taking Aeryn there, so that they can fix her. They have to fix her."  
  
"Do you think that is wise?" D'Argo stalked over to John to stand in front of him. "After what Aeryn said, it appears there are wanted beacons everywhere."  
  
"And that is different from when?" Every since his run-in with Crais and then Scorpius John had been a wanted man in the universe and it was something he had learned to live with. He just didn't like others living with it.  
  
"Look, D'Argo, I am going to get Aeryn to Callous and get her fixed up and then I am outta' here." John had made the decision after Aeryn re-counted her story. They had been safe in the three cycles he had been gone, and with the boys to think about now, they were better off with out him.  
  
"What do you mean you are leaving?"  
  
"I am only putting you guys in danger by being here. I have to go."  
  
"Abandoning Aeryn again. And not just Aeryn this time, but the boys too."  
  
"God, D'Argo, what do you want me to do?" John sat down in one of the stools on command. Didn't D'Argo know the decision was eating him up inside? He didn't want to leave, far from it. The visions of Aeryn and his sons would burn in his soul for the rest of his life when he left. He would always live with what might have been, but the death it would cause inside him was nothing compared to the certainty of life for Aeryn, Jace and Jack.  
  
"You know what I expect you to do. Fight." D'Argo lifted John from the chair and held him out in front of him, and John's feet dangled off the floor.  
  
"I am done. Through. Over. I just want to make sure they are safe."  
  
"Then stay here and make sure they are," D'Argo said putting John back on the floor.  
  
"I can't." John turned from command and walked out. He could hear D'Argo growl in disagreement and imagined him shaking his head at John.  
  
Aeryn felt total isolation envelope her. There were people all around her, but their presence couldn't mask the truth that she couldn't understand them. That she couldn't communicate her thoughts and feelings and could only be a by-stander to the life moving around her.  
  
The boys, her sweet sons, tried to talk to her but she couldn't hear them. Jack placed his hand on her chin for her to look at him while he talked but all she could do is shake her head and pretend she understood.  
  
Aeryn hadn't felt this hopeless since Namtar injected her with some of Pilot's DNA. The metamorphosis had not only changed her outward appearance but inside as well. It was almost the same with her deafness. She had always been a take-charge type of person but now she was totally dependent on the others.  
  
After living with her deafness for two solar days, Aeryn was relived John had made arrangements for her to see someone about her condition on the planet they orbited. John was by her side as they entered the office of the physician who could possibly cure her.  
  
They were led to a room and it wasn't long before the surgeon entered. He was surprisingly a Sebaccean and John was shocked to find one of Aeryn's kind this far out in the uncharted territories. It proved to be a lucky stroke for Aeryn, and he easily assessed Aeryn's problem and promised to correct the hemorrhage that had caused her hearing loss.  
  
Three arns later, John was called back into the small room. The surgeon had informed him that the procedure was a success and that he could see Aeryn. John walked over to her and took her hand lifted it to his lips.  
  
"Aeryn," he said placing a kiss on her forehead.  
  
"It's good to hear your voice," Aeryn said smiling. "It's good to hear, period."  
  
"I'm glad."  
  
John took Aeryn back to Moya and made sure she was comfortable in her quarters. She was still a bit woozy from the procedure as well as the gash on her head.  
  
John went to his quarters and began packing his things. A quick break, that is the way it had to be. He would just leave and give his family a chance to survive. It was the only choice he could live with.  
  
"What are you doing?" Aeryn's voice came from behind him. John turned to see her leaning up against the entryway with her arms crossed over her breasts.  
  
"I'm leaving, Aeryn," he said flatly. "If I stay they will hunt me down and you or the boys will get caught in the cross-fire."  
  
"Don't you think I have a say in this decision?"  
  
That was a new wrinkle. The last he remembered, Aeryn was telling him to shove off.  
  
"Do you want to be?"  
  
"Maybe, but you weren't giving me a chance one way or the other." Aeryn walked into the room to stand in front of John. "Yes, I was injured on that planet, but it was my fault. I shouldn't have lingered. I should have gotten out of there."  
  
"You lingered because of the beacon, because of me."  
  
"Yes I did, just like you would have done if the situation was reversed." Aeryn placed her hand on John's forearm. "Just like we have always done, I was watching your back. It's just that I got sloppy and got caught."  
  
"Aeryn I ..," John began.  
  
"Don't run away again," Aeryn said placing her hand on his cheek. "Let me prove to you I can be Aeryn Sun."  
  
Her words, her plea cut John to the quick. She still thought John saw her as a copy. "Baby, you are Aeryn Sun. It just took a moron like me a while to figure it out."  
  
John took her in his arms and held her close. He lost himself in her and his whole body started to burn with uncontrollable hunger for her. "Do you really want me to stay," John asked as he lifted his head to look her in the face."  
  
Aeryn couldn't speak, she just shook her head yes. It was then he saw it, something he should have seen all along. The flash in her eyes, the feeling he got when he saw it. The light in her eyes, the glimmer of hope it represented. It was Aeryn Sun, she had always been Aeryn Sun and now she was his Aeryn Sun. 


	9. Twin of Me

This is in response to Kaz and the rest who pleaded for just a little more closer. Hope you enjoy.  
  
Twin of Me (More Stories of the Twinning of Aeryn Sun) Author: blueaeryn Rating: R  
  
Summary: Closing the Book  
  
Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
"Where did you go when you were gone," Aeryn asked as she threaded her long fingers through his shorn hair. She noticed the touch of gray at his temple and was sure whatever he had been through had caused this.  
  
"I went to hell and back and a few places in between," John told her. Aeryn was lying next to him with her elbow propped on a pillow and her head resting in her hand. She was so beautiful it hurt. Her gray-blue eyes were staring at him with such intensity and love. "I thought if I wrapped myself up in the wormhole research I could forget everything that happened, but I couldn't."  
  
"Did you miss her?" It was a question Aeryn had to ask, for even though he told her she was Aeryn Sun, there was still doubt in her heart.  
  
"I missed you." John tugged a strand of her dark raven hair away from her face and rubbed it between his thumb and forefinger. "God, did I miss you."  
  
"What happened to you?" Aeryn pointed to the gray forming in his hair.  
  
"Time happened," John said letting out a rush of air. "Time I wasted. Time I should have been spending with you. Spending with the boys."  
  
"They have really taken to you," Aeryn said rubbing her finger down his bare chest. She splayed her hand over his chest and felt him, just felt him breathing and his heart beating in his chest. It was her way of reminding herself that he was real and here with her. "The boys have been missing you. Missing having a father."  
  
"And I missed being one." John put his hand over Aeryns and squeezed. "But I promise, I'll make it up to you and them."  
  
"I know you will." Aeryn sighed and laid her head on his shoulder. John wrapped his arm around her shoulder and held her close.  
  
"Hum," Aeryn said with a sigh.  
  
"What?" John turned his head to try and see Aeryn's face.  
  
"I was just thinking about the dream I had when I first discovered I was pregnant.." Aeryn lifted her head off John's shoulder and moved to rest her chin on his chest. "She came to me, the other me, and told me one of the twins I carried was the baby she lost."  
  
John's eyes grew wide and his mouth opened in shock. "She spoke to you?"  
  
"I'm not sure," Aeryn said with hesitation. "It could have just been a dream, but it felt real. She told me to take care of you and the boys."  
  
"It would be nice if it happened," John said with a smile. "If she found peace."  
  
"I'm sure she did, John," Aeryn said stroking his cheek. "She had your love."  
  
"Just as you do," John told her. "You know that, don't you? That I love you with the same intensity and passion that I loved her, that you are Aeryn Sun."  
  
"I know, it's just sometimes..."  
  
"Never have doubts, Aeryn," John said kissing her forehead. "Never."  
  
John turned Aeryn onto her back and covered her with his body. He touched his lips to hers in a soft caress and licked her lips with his tongue. He felt himself grow hard from just the slightest touch of her. He could feel a burning sensation ripple through this whole body and his breath begin to quicken with the need for her.  
  
She was already bare from their earlier bout of lovemaking so John just dipped his head and found one of Aeryn's breasts. He opened his mouth to take the whole nipple and clamped his teeth around her breast tugging ever so slightly. He could hear Aeryn moan in pleasure and he smiled with his mouth still wrapped around her breast.  
  
Moving further down, John trailed tiny kisses down her stomach. It was as toned as he remembered, but held a slight roundness. A leftover remnants of her pregnancy, and he also noticed faded stretch marks that lined her abdomen. He had missed her growing ripe with his children. Missed feeling them tumble inside her. Missed his chance to walk down the street with her hand in his and staring at passers-by with a smug grin that said yes he did this. This woman is carrying MY child. My seed caused her to grow heavy with child.  
  
John was preparing to continue his trail of kisses into lower regions when he heard it. First it was just a hazy mumble that he wanted to slap away, but then it grew louder.  
  
"Mommy," the tiny voice said from the comms sitting on the table beside the bed. "Mommy," this time the voice was a little more insistent.  
  
Aeryn pushed John's head away from her and swung her feet over the bed. "Welcome to the world of parenthood." Aeryn smiled down at John as he lay back on the bed with his arms resting above his head, and his need for her proudly saluting her as she dressed quickly.  
  
"Are you coming," Aeryn asked as she slipped her black T-shirt over her head.  
  
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," John said as he rolled off the bed in search of his pants. 


	10. Perchance to Twin

Perchance to Twin (More Stories of the Twinning of Aeryn Sun) Author: blueaeryn Rating: R  
  
Summary: Life is never what it seems  
  
Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
John was sitting on the floor with the boys as they crawled over him when he first felt it. A sense of dread that he couldn't shake, and then a feeling that all of this wasn't real, shaking his head he tried to laugh it off, but it wouldn't go away.  
  
"Aeryn," John yelled. "Aeryn, where are you?" Jack and Jace began to fade from his sight as the world he knew began to grow dark.  
  
"John," he heard Aeryn say in a fog as darkness enveloped him.  
  
"Are you sure it was wise to pull him out so quickly," Torris asked. "Will he survive?"  
  
Lifting the device from around John Crichton's head, the Scarren medical officer, Ballik, shook his head yes. "He is very strong, not many species last this long in a dream environment. He must have really wanted what he saw to be true."  
  
"Did we learn anything?" Torris, asked. He was a Scarren officer in command of attaining knowledge from captives and he had to learn something from his prize. "I must have something to take back to the emperor."  
  
"The wormhole knowledge is deeply buried, but I believe I have another method that may extract it," Ballik said. "He was too happy in that environment, but a more dire one may reveal all."  
  
John awoke in a small cell, lying on a cot. Rubbing his eyes he looked around in horror. Where was Moya? What had happened? "Aeryn," he screamed. But there was no answer.  
  
"Oh, good, you are awake," a voice said.  
  
John turned his head to the left and then to the right trying to find the origin of the voice. Then he realized it was being piped into the room.  
  
"We were worried you wouldn't come out of your little slumber," the voice continued. "Did you enjoy your dream?"  
  
Dream? What the frell was he talking about? This was the dream, a nightmare. He was supposed to be with Aeryn and the boys, not here. "Ah, you are thinking about the life you were leading," the voice taunted. "It was created to make you happy. None of it was real. This is your reality, John Crichton. Accept it."  
  
"Nooooo." John collapsed on the floor with his head in his hands. Memories, real memories came flooding back to him. He had left Aeryn so many cycles ago, unable to accept her. He could only think of the other Aeryn he had shared his life with. It had taken over two cycles but he had taught his worthless self that she was Aeryn, and he needed her. John was on his way back to her when she was ambushed but a detail of damn Scarrens. The dream state they had immersed him in had made him forget this, and he longed to be back there. He should have known it was just a dream. When did John Crichton ever get a chance to be truly happy?  
  
Arns passed. He wasn't sure how many, as John was wrapped up in his grief. He sat on the cot with his knees drawn to his chest and his head resting on the back of the wall. He had to get out of here, but how? "Come on John, you can do this," he said to himself. Pull yourself together.  
  
The door opened and a figure appeared in the doorway. From the shadow he cast, John could tell he was a Scarren. "Come on," the Scarren said waving his hand.  
  
John eased off the cot and walked slowly to the doorway. The scarren held a gun loosely in his hand and John thought he might have a chance, and he took it. As he passed the Scarren into the hallway, John noticed they were the only ones there. He also noticed the small dagger attached to the Scarren's belt.  
  
In one swift motion, John turned on the Scarren and grabbed the knife from his belt. He knew he didn't have a chance with the Scarren if he didn't do something quickly. The puney knife wouldn't perforate his skin, but there was tender spot, the eyes. John rammed the tip of the blade into the Scarren's eye and he roared in pain. Blood spurted from the eye and spattered John in the face. He found the other eye and repeated the procedure.  
  
As the Scarren raised his hands to his afflicted eyes, John grabbed the gun he had discarded. He placed the nose of the pulse rifle in the Scarren's eye socket and pulled the trigger. The blast went straight to the brain, and he fell with a thud.  
  
Looking down at his handiwork, John kicked the Scarren with the toe of his boat and walked away. He slung the pulse pistol on his shoulder and covertly made his way down the hallway.  
  
Now, John would stand out like a sore thumb on a Scarren base, so he stayed to the shadows as best he could. "So, how do you get out of this?" John wasn't sure how he did it, but he quietly made his way down to the hanger. Maybe they thought he was part of the group of Sebaccean slaves they Scarrens had collected, he wasn't sure? But here he was in the hanger, just metres away from a Scarren ship that would take him out of here.  
  
Over to his left, John noticed a Scarren ship preparing to leave. He checked both ways and made his way to the ship. No one was aboard, and it was a stroke of luck. Scanning the ship, John found a small storage area, that resembled a closet and wedged him self inside.  
  
Counting and praying John waited until he felt movement and prayed the ship would take him away. He didn't care where, he just wanted away from here. His ultimate destination was Darus, a small planet he had found in his travels. When he was roaming the city, he had paid a man to watch his module, he just hoped the man took his duty to heart and still had it. John needed to find Aeryn, he had to make sure she was alright. He just had to.  
  
Aeryn strolled the streets of the small commerce planet. It was good to be off Moya for a while. The rigors of her life sometimes took its toll, but enjoying the atmosphere and excitement of the small city took her mind off everything.  
  
She was looking for a small gift for him. He had been so sullen lately. He was growing older and his limitations were making themselves known. It was unfair that a young life should have to endure so much, but he took everything in stride. He was a good boy and Aeryn loved him, even if he wasn't whole.  
  
Aeryn was looking at a little doll that she thought he might enjoy when she heard her name. It came out as a question, and when Aeryn turned, her shock caused her to drop the doll she was holding.  
  
"John?" Aeryn cocked her head and squinted her eyes. His hair was longer then she remembered and he had a thick beard and wore tattered brown clothing. But it was him. He had a deep scar on his right temple and when he tried to walk toward her, he stumbled.  
  
Aeryn rushed to his side to hold him up. John leaned on her, placing his hand around her waist. "Aeryn, is that really you?" He began to cry, openly weep and lost his grip on her and tumbled to the ground. "Oh, my God," he cried.  
  
"D'Argo," Aeryn commed. "Get her quickly."  
  
D'Argo came rushing around the corner, his qualta blade drawn. He lowered the weapon when he saw Aeryn kneeling beside a pitiful figure. When the figure lifted his head to reveal his dear friend John Crichton, D'Argo swiftly came to his side. He lifted his friend in his arms and he and Aeryn made their way out of the market and to the transport pod that awaited them.  
  
John hurt all over. He tossed his head back and forth and then awoke suddenly. He imagined he was still in that tiny cell, but when he saw the walls of Moya, he jerked from his bed.  
  
"It won't work his time," he screamed. "I won't fall for it again."  
  
Aeryn dashed into the room to see John running about the room. He looked like a crazy man with his long hair and beard, and his actions frightened her.  
  
"John, what are you doing?" She came to his side and grabbed her shoulders.  
  
"Aeryn?" John took her head in his hands and ran his fingers through her hair. "Are you really here? Am I?"  
  
"Come and sit down." Aeryn led John back to his bed and they sat on the edge of the bed.  
  
John rested his arms on his knees and kept shaking his head. "Is this real?"  
  
"Yes, John, you are on Moya." Aeryn brushed her fingers across his dirty hair. "What happened to you?"  
  
"Scarrens," he forced from his mouth. "They captured me. Tortured me. Made up a life for me and made me think it was real."  
  
Aeryn just stared at him. It all sounded so familiar.  
  
"I thought I came back to you and you forgave me," John cried. "We had two little boys. Twins, they were beautiful."  
  
Aeryn jumped from the bed and strode across the room. When she turned back to him, John realized her face was deathly pale.  
  
"I wish that had been true. I was happy there. We had children, Aeryn, but it wasn't real."  
  
"Yes it was," Aeryn said softly. "I did have twins, I just don't anymore." 


	11. Twin in Pieces

Twin in Pieces (More Stories of the Twinning of Aeryn Sun) Author: blueaeryn Rating: R  
  
Summary: Horrors at the hands of the Scarrens  
  
Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
Aeryn's words hit him straight in the gut. The sudden wave of sadness that crossed her face broke his heart. What hat happened to her? What was going on here?  
  
"What do you mean you used to have twins," John asked forcing himself to stand. In slow steps he walked to her side and attempted to place his hand on her shoulder but she backed away.  
  
"I was pregnant when you left," Aeryn said solemnly.  
  
John watched her rub her hands in slow circular motions. It was then he knew whatever happened, it was really bad. Aeryn never let herself show such emotion, but what could he base his assumption on? He had been gone three cycles from her side. He didn't know what she was like anymore.  
  
"I was carrying twins," Aeryn continued. "I was excited and terrified at the same time, after all I never dreamed of having a child. Not to mention two."  
  
With a deep breath, Aeryn revealed a story that broke John Crichton. He had been through a lot, seen a lot. He had watched Aeryn Sun die twice, once by his hand and once in his arms, but this crushed his soul and broke his spirit.  
  
Aeryn was almost to full term, and though the others objected, she decided to take a trip down to the planet below. She needed off the ship for a while, a chance to escape the confines of Moya and the watchful eye of Chiana and D'Argo who had become her self-appointed nursemaids.  
  
D'Argo and Chiana accompanied her to the planet but promised to give her a wide berth. She just needed some alone time. An ironic statement since she used to see herself one among many, always enjoying the company of others, after all it was the way she had been reared. But John Crichton had changed that. He had changed a lot of things about Aeryn, including this, she thought rubbing her abdomen. The twins were active today, and they tumbled within her.  
  
She was so lost in thought about the impending birth of her children she didn't hear them come from behind, and by the time she realized they were there it was too late. She fought to break free from their grasp, but it was in vain. She had been captured by a pair of Scarren soldiers and was being drug off to parts unknown.  
  
In a flash, Aeryn had the foresight to comm D'Argo. The Scarren's had realized she possessed a comms device and she took advantage of the situation to hail D'Argo.  
  
"D'Argo, I am being captured by Scarren's," Aeryn said into the comms. "Come quick," she got out before the Scarren on her left knocked her out with the back of his hand.  
  
She awoke with her hands tied to a table. She rested her chin on her chest to try and look down at her stomach. She breathed a sigh when she saw her bulging abdomen. Nothing had happened to the babies, yet.  
  
Aeryn noticed they were on a ship. They couldn't be far from the planet where they had taken her. She could tell the ship was small, probably as Stryker. She was in a crude medical facility and Aeryn shuddered to think what they had planned.  
  
Just then, a door opened and a Scarren medical worker stepped in. He held a scanning device in his hands and Aeryn fought to free herself as he approached. He stroked her head with his scaly hand and placed the scanning device on her forehead.  
  
The dreams came in a flood. She was back on Moya, safe and happy. D'Argo was there, as well as Chiana, and standing in the background was John. He laughed at the sight of her and she dipped her head and returned his smile. He held in his arms to bundles, and as she peered through the blankets she saw two perfect babies. She began to cry and was glad the days she had lived had all been a dream.  
  
All of a sudden there was intense pain. It came like a bright flash of light and she screamed in pain as she felt a hot blade pierce her abdomen.  
  
Opening her eyes, she saw the Scarren standing over her with a laser blade in his hand. He was cutting open her abdomen, and Aeryn knew his goal was her babies. "No," she screamed writhing in pain and desperation.  
  
As the blade cut deeper Aeryn could feel blood seeping from her body, as well as her life. They were going to rip her children from her and leave her for dead.  
  
"Unfortunate," Aeryn heard him say. Her stomach was spit open and he pulled a baby from her gaping wound. It was lifeless and when Aeryn looked up she could see why. The blade had cut too deeply and had severed the baby's throat, as blood was gushing from the wound. The boy had died before he took his first breath.  
  
"This one is in pieces," Aeryn heard him say as he plucked the second child from her womb. Pulling the baby up to his eye level Aeryn noticed her son was missing a leg. The Scarren had cut her one child's throat and maimed her other one.  
  
"Bastard," she yelled. The scarren slapped Aeryn in the face as he was holding the baby by the leg. The pain was too intense and Aeryn felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. She fought it for the sake of her remaining child, but the pain was too great. As she slipped into blissful darkness she vowed to some day rise up and strike down all the Scarren's for this, but especially this one, because he had killed her child.  
  
The next thing Aeryn remembered she was being held in strong capable hands. Swaying back and forth with the movements of his strides, Aeryn recognized D'Argo's familiar gait. Somehow, someway, he had found her. She struggled in his arms looking for her remaining child.  
  
"Where is he," Aeryn said. She turned in D'Argo's grasp to see Chiana walking behind them. She held something close to her chest in a blanket and Aeryn prayed it was her son and that he was alive. "Is he..""  
  
"Barely," D'Argo replied quickly. "We have to get you two aboard Moya and out of here. See if the both of you can be saved."  
  
They had been saved. Wounds healed but spirits took longer. Aeryn's son survived and flourished despite his missing leg. It was hard on him, as he grew older. Unlike normal toddlers, he didn't learn to walk normally. They had found a surgeon who had fastened him an artificial leg and his unsteady leg had to not only adjust to waling upright but the hindrance of a leg he wasn't born with.  
  
Aeryn decided to name her son Lucky. It was a word John had used frequently and she believed it fit her little boy. He had been the lucky one, because he had been hiding under his brother when the Scarren cut his twin's throat.  
  
"His name is Lucky," John asked.  
  
"Yes," Aeryn shook her head. "It seemed appropriate."  
  
"Is he okay, besides the .." John couldn't finish his sentence.  
  
"He is perfect," Aeryn smiled. "He reminds me a lot of you."  
  
John reached his hand out to her again and she came willingly this time. He enveloped her in his embrace and she laid her head on his shoulder.  
  
"I promise you this," John said into her hair. "I will hunt those bastards down and we will make them pay for this. For all of it."  
  
Aeryn just shook her head. She was tired. Tired of all of it. Of running and fighting. The warrior Peacekeeper had lost her will to fight. Now she just wanted peace. She didn't tell John her thoughts. His rage was still too fresh. She knew of this rage for what the Scarrens had done, she had felt it consume her at first. Now she thought of Lucky and the life she could make for him, a life that she hoped included this man. John Crichton.  
  
Aeryn broke John's embrace and stepped back. She looked him up and down. "Get cleaned up and dressed," she said wrinkling her nose. "Then come find me. I would like you to meet your son."  
  
John shook his head and Aeryn left him. God, how could he live with this knowledge? How had she lived with it? Could he face the boy who was his son, knowing the boy's disfigurement was his fault? A boy that was whole was now in pieces because he carried the DNA of John Crichton and the whole universe hunted him for the knowledge of wormholes. He cursed him self, he cursed wormholes and the Ancients who had implanted the knowledge within him. "Damn you all," John said slamming his fist against Moya's bulkhead. He then crumpled to the floor and wept as he held his head in his hands. 


	12. Twin For Revenge

Twin for Revenge - (Pt. 12-More Stories of the Twinning of Aeryn Sun) Author: blueaeryn Rating: PG  
  
Summary: John finds revenge is part of his nature Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
John was in awe of the little boy. He maneuvered around his quarters with such ease, despite the artificial leg on his left thigh. Aeryn was right. Lucky was perfect excepting for his leg. He had light brown hair just like John's.  
  
It was a contrast to the twins of his dream. John found himself thinking about them often, and it was hard to remember they were just a figment made up by the Scarrens. It had seemed so real, and such a better reality then this one.  
  
Looking into the boy's eyes he saw Aeryn in them. They were the same shade and held such wisdom. More wisdom then a boy two cycles old should really have. Lucky had been born to pain and had lived with it ever since.  
  
So unlike John's childhood beginning, as he was born to a safe and healthy home with no sense of dread or evil weighing upon him. John had once hated his father for constantly leaving his family for the missions in space, but what John had done was worse. He had abandoned his son, his family and left them to the horrors of the Scarrens. It was something he wasn't sure he could recover from.  
  
Aeryn had introduced John to Lucky who was playing on the floor. "Lucky," Aeryn called to the boy. His eyes brightened when he heard his mother's voice and struggled to stand and limp over to her.  
  
"Mommy," Lucky exclaimed. He wrapped his arms around Aeryn's leg and squeezed. Aeryn kneeled down beside him and hugged him close. "Who that," Lucky asked pointing to John.  
  
Aeryn pulled Lucky's body close to hers and took his hand. "That is John Crichton," Aeryn said. "Your father."  
  
Lucky shrank next to Aeryn as John knelt down beside the two. "Hey buddy," John said offering his hand.  
  
"It's okay, Lucky, go ahead." Aeryn prodded the little boy. Please don't shun him, Aeryn pleaded in her mind, he needs you Lucky and you need him.  
  
Lucky peeked over at Aeryn and then reached out and took John's hand. His baby soft hand was swallowed up in John's and John gave the little boy a light squeeze.  
  
"It's nice to meet you," John said with a slight smile.  
  
Children were really quite resilient. John had remembered his mom used to say that, but he didn't believe it until he met Lucky. "Wanna see my toys," the little boy asked. And just like that John was in. Accepted into Lucky's circle and he felt honored and privileged.  
  
After an arn of playing with Lucky, John left the little boy to his nap and went in search of Aeryn. After learning she was in her quarters, John made his way down the passageway to speak to her.  
  
"He really is amazing," John began as he waltzed through the doorway to Aeryn's quarters. He stopped in mid speech when he noticed she was undressing. Normally it had been a happy accident for John, but what he saw caused his whole body to revolt.  
  
A large scar ran vertically down Aeryn's stomach. It began right under her breasts and raced down her abdomen and past her belly button. The scar was jagged and rough, and deep ridges stuck up in a haphazard manner.  
  
When Aeryn saw him standing there, she quickly rummaged through her drawer and pulled out a black T-Shirt. After pulling her arms and head through, she noticed he had moved into the room to stand next to her.  
  
"Aeryn," he said softly. John placed his hand on her stomach and could still feel the scar through her T-Shirt. When she had described the horror she had been through, John listened with disgust and pain but couldn't really imagine it until now.  
  
"It wasn't as bad as it looks," Aeryn promised. She turned her back to him and went in search of her boots.  
  
"No, I think it was," John said placing his hand on her shoulder. "How did you survive?"  
  
"I'm not sure." Aeryn still had her back to him and refused to face him. "D'Argo said it was on pure will. He and Chiana were sure I was going to die and they resigned themselves to raising Lucky alone, but each day I got a little better even though I had lost so much blood."  
  
"I should have been here," John said recriminating himself. "This is all my fault."  
  
His comments caused Aeryn to finally turn around. "No, you mustn't blame yourself," Aeryn exclaimed. "It happened, there is nothing you could have done."  
  
"I could have not been such a bastard," John said backing away. "I was so wrapped up in myself and my grief that I left you and didn't even think about the consequences."  
  
"You couldn't have known," Aeryn tried to tell him.  
  
John just shook his head and went to the far end of the room. He leaned up against the wall and just stared at Aeryn.  
  
"Do you still think of her," Aeryn said asking about the other Aeryn Sun that used to live her on Moya. "Do you still miss her?"  
  
"No," John said in a whisper. "I was searching for all of you when I was captured. In fact I have spent the past two cycles looking for you. I guess I was three cycles too late."  
  
Aeryn could feel his pain it was as great as her own. She still had questions about his thoughts about her self and the other Aeryn but now was not the time. He needed to be consoled, and Aeryn decided she could offer him that. Walking over to him, Aeryn took his head and placed it on her shoulder. She ran her fingers through his hair and kept telling him it would be okay.  
  
"No it won't," John said after a few microts, lifting his heads to look her in the eyes. The wildness in his eyes shocked her. "I am going to kill every last Scarren. Call it John Crichton's won personal genocide. Call it what you want, but I am going to kill all those bastards for what they did to you and Lucky. I am going to kill them."  
  
"John wait," Aeryn said as he ran from the room. She didn't like the way he was reacting. He was running on pure hate and revenge. John had always had a level head in these situations, but she wasn't sure his mind was intact anymore. After all he had been through, she was afraid his fragile mind had finally snapped.  
  
Aeryn left him alone for almost a solar day. Pilot had informed her he was working on his module they had brought onto Moya. John had found his module on the planet he had left it and went back in search Moya and the rest. It was by pure luck he had found Aeryn on that small planet, and he marked it down as providence. Proof that his revenge was justified.  
  
Not being able to take it anymore, Aeryn made her way to the maintenance bay to talk to John. She found him sitting in his module with various tools encircling the craft.  
  
"What are you doing, John," Aeryn asked as she stood beside him at the module.  
  
John was so lost in his work that it took a few microts for John to realized Aeryn standing there. "Aeryn, what are you doing here?"  
  
"I have been her for a while, Crichton," Aeryn informed him. "I asked you what you were doing."  
  
"Re-working the displacement engine," John said. He took a wire and twisted it into another and rubbed his head with his forearm.  
  
"The one you used on Da Ba Da," Aeryn asked. "That created the wormhole and blew up the dreadknot?"  
  
"Yeah," John said absorbed in his work.  
  
"What are you planning to do with it?"  
  
"Make them pay, Aeryn," John said coolly. "Make them pay." 


	13. Twin of Change

Twin of Change- (Pt. 13-More Stories of the Twinning of Aeryn Sun) Author: blueaeryn Rating: PG  
  
Summary: Will John Follow Through with His Plan? Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
John Crichton was a man obsessed. What was new about that? Wormholes, Aeryn, Earth and now revenge were added to his growing list. Every time he saw his little boy struggling to walk down the passageway or maneuver around he felt a grinding deep in his soul.  
  
He had been back on Moya for five solar days. Spending the last four working diligently on his module and the displacement engine. When he had doubts, or thought twice about what he was proposing, John only needed to think back to Lucky and to Aeryn. It was all the motivation he needed.  
  
John could tell the others were worried about him. D'Argo would come in to check on him every few arns and Chiana insisted on bringing him his meals to the maintenance bay. Aeryn, well, Aeryn was a quiet supporter. He could tell she disliked what he was doing, but didn't say a word. She had always supported him in his foolish plans and this time was no different.  
  
It was funny. Since his return he hadn't once thought of her as the copy of Aeryn. After three cycles of running and all the hurt and pain he had caused, he couldn't see her as anyone else besides Aeryn Sun.  
  
Just seeing her made him ache. She was in pieces just like Lucky. The whole Aeryn Sun he had meet all those cycles ago on Moya was gone. The fire in her eyes, the assurance of who she was and what she was vanished. Guilt burnt within him for that.  
  
She was still so beautiful. His breath caught at the sight of her. That long flowing raven hair, piercing blue-gray eyes, and that walk were all his undoing. Damn, that walk alone could send a man to his knees. His body longed for her and he wanted to kiss that horrid scar and promise to take the pain away.  
  
First, though, he had to take his pain away. The hate in his heart grew stronger with each passing day, eating away at him like a cancer. It screamed to be fed, and the only thing that would quench his hunger was the death of Scarrens. He wanted to hear them scream in pain, see the blood spurt from their bodies, gut them open and see what was inside just like they did Aeryn.  
  
Revenge, it was a dish best served cold. Well, he had waited and now he was ready to exact that revenge. He felt his palms began to sweat in anticipation and saliva form at the back of his throat. His heart raced at the thought of his attack and his eyes grew large imaging the carnage.  
  
Just one last twist of this screw, John thought, as he turned the screw with the wrench. There, he was finished. He had increased the intensity of the power, and assured himself that it would create one massive explosion. He wondered what month it was on Earth. He dreamed it was close to the Fourth of July, because he was about to make one hell of a fireworks display.  
  
Wiping his hands on a rag, John jumped down from his module. He looked over his module like a young man who had just washed his precious car and shook his head. Yeah, it was ready.  
  
He went in search of Aeryn. He had to tell her his plan. She would object, tell him not to go, heck, she might even ask to go with him. He would shoot her down and try to make her understand. She had to understand that a man had to have retribution for what they did to his family.  
  
Aeryn was alone in the center chamber drinking something and looking through a book of schematics. She looked up when she heard John enter.  
  
"Hey," John said spreading his feet wide. He rocked back and forth on his heels and placed his hands on his hips.  
  
"Hey," Aeryn replied. She pulled out a chair beside her and cocked her head in an open invitation. John walked over and sat down, placing his hands on the table.  
  
"Are you taking a rest," Aeryn asked.  
  
John linked his hands together and looked at Aeryn. "No, I am finished." He turned and stared at the wall across from the table.  
  
"So, that means?"  
  
"It means I am ready to leave." He continued to stare ahead forcing himself not to look at Aeryn. "Pilot got some intel from the last planet we stopped on two solar days, and thinks he has the star charts for the Scarren base. I am going there and do a little payback."  
  
Aeryn jumped from her chair, causing it to fall back and crash to the floor. "Are you insane, John?" She placed her hands on the table and leaned in close to him. "You expect to just fly into Scarren space and create a wormhole to blow them up and you don't think they will detect you and stop you. They will kill you."  
  
"I can't live with this, Aeryn," John said leaning his head back on the chair. "I am reminded what they did to you and Lucky everyday, all because of me. And I can't take it. I had no control over that, but this I do."  
  
"So, you are leaving again," Aeryn said with recrimination. "Only this time, you won't be coming back."  
  
"Yes I will." John touched her hand. "I have to come back."  
  
"You can't guarantee anything, John," Aeryn said pulling her hand out from under his. "If I have learned anything in the last three cylces, I have learned there is no certainty. I thought I was to give birth to two healthy sons, and all I got was one murdered son and one almost torn apart. So, you can't promise me anything."  
  
"It's all I've got," John said blowing out a long breath. "It's all I can offer."  
  
"You once said I could be more," Aeryn said stepping away from him. "Well, I am more now and I want more."  
  
"Give me time, Aeryn." John pleaded. "Let me do this and then we can be free."  
  
"I gave you time, John." Tears began to form in Aeryn's eyes and she fought them back. "Three cycles I waited for you to realize I was Aeryn Sun and for you to come to me and I don't think I can wait anymore."  
  
Tears hot and fresh began to flow now. For a soldier who fought every form of emotion, it seemed to come more freely now. A change in environment and beliefs could do that to a person as it had for Aeryn.  
  
Watching your child torn from your body could change a person in so many ways and for Aeryn it made her appreciate life. For so many cycles she lived with the probability of death, and though she didn't embrace it, she accepted its eventuality. Now, she embraced life. Lived everyday as if it was her last and fought for the next day with every fiber of her being. To watch John treat life with such disregard upset and angered Aeryn.  
  
"You have this life handed back to you," Aeryn continued. "Don't throw it away for revenge. It eats you up inside until nothing is left. I should know. I fed on it daily after what they did to me."  
  
"Then you have to understand," John said pounding his fist.  
  
"I understand it is wasted energy," Aeryn revealed. "Focus that energy on healing and forget this. You will never be free if you don't. The blood doesn't go away, you know, you can wash it from your hands but it stains you inside." Aeryn pointed to her chest.  
  
John was shocked by Aeryn's insightfulness. It was then he realized how long he had truly been away and how much she had changed. She didn't even resemble the other Aeryn he hand known and loved. This was a new Aeryn Sun, one that revered life, fought daily to give her son a normal life and struggled to stay alive. It strengthened his resolve more than weakened it to do what he thought he had to do.  
  
"I love you," John said. He stood and walked to Aeryn's side. Placing his hand on her cheek he moved it up to caress her hair. Leaning close he placed a chaste kiss on her lips. Pulling away he looked into her eyes. He would always remember that look as he pulled away, it was a cross between love, hatred and sadness. With his other hand, John grabbed Aeryn's and pressed a data chip in her palm.  
  
"That is for Pilot," he said stepping away. "It is a data chip of the coordinates I will be at in six solar days if I succeed. If you guys aren't there I will understand and if I am not there then you will know I failed."  
  
"I love you," John said one last time before he turned his back and left the room.  
  
Aeryn wanted to run after him but she couldn't force he feet to move. They were stuck to the floor and so she just stood there with her head in her hands. "John Crichton," she screamed.  
  
John heard her screams in the passageway and almost turned back to her, but he stopped when he saw Lucky slowly making his way toward John. He limped a little faster when he saw John and rewarded his father with a bright smile.  
  
"Hey, Champ," John said kneeling in front of the boy. "Going to get a snack?"  
  
Lucky shook his head briskly a light brown lock of hair falling into his eyes. John brushed the hair back into place and rubbed the little boys head. He took Lucky by the shoulders and pulled him into a warm embrace.  
  
"I love you, son," John said. "Whatever happens, know that I loved you and did this for you." Kissing him on the head, John sent Lucky on his way and walked away.  
  
Aeryn must have commed his friends, because when John reached his module, D'Argo and Chiana were standing in front of his small craft. Both guarded it like a couple of pack animals and scowled at John as he came closer.  
  
"You aren't going anywhere," D'Argo growled. "You are out of your mind with grief right now, and I can't let you go."  
  
"You can't stop me," John said pulling his pulse pistol. "Don't make me do something I will regret."  
  
D'Argo was surprised to see the wildness in his friend's eyes. It was more than pain and grief, it was pure hatred and he understood this emotion. He lived with it every day, hoping and praying he would one day face Macton again and make him pay for LoLann's death.  
  
Moving away from the module, D'Argo pulled Chiana with him. She shot him a questioning gaze and D'Argo just shook his head. "Just come back," D'Argo told John.  
  
"That's the plan," John told him as he holstered his pulse pistol. John hopped into the module and looked around as he flipped the switches to fire up the engine.  
  
In his mind, as he began to fly off, Aeryn would rush out and give him the send off he deserved. Just like the movies when the fliers went off to war, but this wasn't a movie. It was reality, cold dark reality. As he closed the canopy and maneuvered the module out of the hanger he still longed for that movie send off and shook his head and laughed at his dream as he exited Moya and began his flight plan.  
  
If John had looked back, he would have seen his movie send off. For in the hanger, stood Aeryn, Lucky in her arms. "Fly safe, John Cricthon," she said. But it fell on deaf ears as he exited the hanger and flew off to meet his fate. 


	14. The Twinning of Aeryn Sun Pt 14

Twin and More Twins- (Pt. 14-More Stories of the Twinning of Aeryn Sun) Author: blueaeryn Rating: PG  
  
Summary: Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
'Has there been any sign of our escaped prisoner," General Borask asked. The Scarren High Commander was in charge of tracking and retrieving the human John Crichton. He had sent squads to all corners of the uncharted territories and beyond looking for Crichton to no avail.  
  
Borask was getting pressure from the Emperor for results. He could tell the Emperor was growing tired of his excuses and wanted results. For now, Borask was on the Scarren's Supreme Command base, talking with other high- ranking officials about he situation at hand.  
  
"There has been no sign of John Crichton," Caraas, a trusted lieutenant and friend told Borask. "It is like he vanished."  
  
"Well, we know that isn't true," Borask replied. "We know he probably went in search of his ship, the leviathon Moya. We just have to concentrate our search on that ship and we will find him."  
  
"Yes sir," the group said in unison. Almost every high-ranking official was on this base to deal with Crichton. For such a weak species he sure was causing a lot more trouble then he seemed to be worth. But, the Emperor was dead set on finding out what he knew about wormholes, all because the Peacekeepers demanded the same knowledge. So, here they all sat trying to find John Crichton.  
  
John Crichton wasn't hard to find if you knew where to look. He was not very far from the Scarren Supreme Command Base.  
  
John's first thought when he came up with this plan was to wipe out every Scarren, but then he heard rumblings about a big meeting between the Scarren's about himself. It seemed not everyone in the Scarren occupied territories approved of their control and were willing to give information for the right price.  
  
Hearing that over half the Scarren's big wigs were in one place was like providence. It sealed John's resolve to at least severely damage the Scarren hierarchy even if he couldn't decimate it.  
  
"Are you sure you know what you are doing," a voice in his head said. He wondered where Harvey was? The bastard was never around when you needed him. Maybe he was preparing for his funeral, John knew he should be doing the same thing.  
  
"The blood, it stays in your soul," Aeryn's words re-played in his mind. She should know her body count was a hell of a lot higher then his. If he got this right, John figured he would overtake her in a split second, not that he wanted to. It was a matter of need, of quenching his thirst for revenge.  
  
Sensors revealed the Scarren base was coming into range, and just like it was scripted, John felt the tingle. It appeared the Scarrens had helped him out a little in his quest for revenge, for the base was situated on the outskirts of a nexus of wormholes. Enough activity to help him create a weapon that would spell their doom.  
  
Flying covertly John made his way to the wormhole he was sure was about to open up and prepared for the maneuver that would create the ultimate weapon. He sneered and laughed at the thought. Yeah, this was going to be good.  
  
"Sir, we are reading that the wormhole is opening again," the soldier said.  
  
"Prepare for the after affect," Borask said lazily. He really hated it when this happened.  
  
John Crichton saw the wormhole open and set his course. Okay, he thought, here goes. Flipping a switch on the control panel, John began flying on the outskirts of the wormhole.  
  
"Just like Doc Brown's flux capasator," John said turning the controls referencing his flight to Back to the Future. "Let's get this sucker up to 88 miles per hour and see what happens."  
  
The wormhole began to ripple outward and just like before when that had destroyed the Scarren Dreadknot the innocent wormhole began turning itself into a weapon. Further rippling spiraled outward and in the direction of the Scarren base.  
  
"We have a problem," an officer said. "It appears the wormhole is coming straight for us. It is attacking."  
  
"What," Borask got out before explosions began around him. His command to his troops was lost as the fire engulfed him and began to sear his supposed impenetrable flesh.  
  
"What a sight," John said aloud. "How do you like me know?"  
  
John didn't have time to revel in his apparent victory as sensors began beeping all over his console. He was losing propulsion and began spiraling out of control. It was then he saw the wormhole losing stability and coming straight for him.  
  
"I guess you were right, Aeryn," John said as he watched the wormhole speed toward him. "You are always right." And then he was gone in a flash and all that was left was empty space.  
  
"Aeryn, he said six solar days," D'Argo said on command. "It has been seven."  
  
"So we just give up," Aeryn asked turning from the view screen. "Are you ready to accept that and leave?"  
  
"No, Aeryn I don't want to give up on him." D'Argo walked toward her. "But at some point we must face reality." D'Argo drew in a deep breath and blew it out. He could see the pain in Aeryn's eyes. Would this ex-peacekeeper he had grown to love every get a fair deal, it appeared she wouldn't, for the only man she had ever truly loved wasn't coming back.  
  
"Reality isn't coming today," Aeryn said lifting her chin. "We wait."  
  
D'Argo jus shook his head and left command. He found Chiana in the passageway.  
  
"Well," she said swaying to the left. "Did you talk her into leaving?"  
  
"No, I couldn't," D'Argo informed her. "We give her today, and then we leave. We can't stay here much longer we are a target."  
  
"Sounds good to me," Chiana replied as she walked past D'Argo. She loved John Crichton, too, but he was gone. Before when he left, he felt he had nothing to live for, but now he did. He had Aeryn and Lucky and if he could've made it back he would have. John Crichton was dead.  
  
John Crichton was alive. He just wasn't sure how. When the wormhole enveloped him, John was sure he was dead, but instead of blowing up, he was sucked into it and fought with all he had to maneuver through the labyrinth to find a route through.  
  
So, here he was floating in space, no clue where he was, and running out of fuel. He was about to give up when he saw a ship in the distance. At first he thought it was Moya but then he discovered it wasn't. This leviathon had a control collar on it and looked pretty beat up. Debating what to do, John decided to chance it, grab some fuel and get the hell out.  
  
Landing in the hanger, John noticed the leviathon was in really bad shape. The walls were rotting and the stench was a cross between rotting flesh and garbage that had been left out in the hot summer sun. To his left, he noticed a transport pod. It appeared to be abandoned, so he by-passed it and went in search of fuel.  
  
Luck, again, there was some viable fuel he could use in the storage container to his left. After re-fueling his module, John prepared his module. He was getting the frell out of here. This had the creepy feeling of turning into one of the scary movies he used to watch when he was a kid. "I'm outta here," John said.  
  
A loud scream stopped his movements as he climbed into the module. "Nope, I am not going," John said aloud. But the scream came again and he slammed his hand on his module and jumped down.  
  
Just look around really quick and get out, John told himself. Making his way down the passageway, there was an eeriness John couldn't shake. All that was missing was the menacing music and he would have been in his own personal horror film.  
  
Continuing through the leviathon, John realized he was making his way to the Pilot's den. Might as well see what is going on down there so I can cure my mind and move on.  
  
Opening the door to Pilot's den, John saw two men struggling on the ledge in front of the area where the pilot sat. The one man was grotesque with flesh hanging from his scalp and a long needle attached to his arm. Now the other man, he looked familiar and when he turned his head, John realized why. It was himself. It was John.  
  
Hell, this must be some kind of alternate reality, John thought. In this reality, John had gone with the others and ran upon Karvok. Hell, how would that one play out?  
  
Just then, the other John punched Karvok and plunged his needle into the base of the area in front of the Pilot. John watched his other self prepare for escape, and then saw Karvok pull himself free and aim something at his other self.  
  
John knew he couldn't let this John die, so he pushed him out of the way and took the brunt of the blast himself. After a few microts he shook his head and noticed Karvok coming after him. John pulled Winona from his holster and shot the weirdo square in the eyes, and he fell with a thud.  
  
John turned his head from the sight, and caught his breath. To the far left lay the alternate John Crichton, but leaning against the wall was a third John. The alternate Crichton was unconscious and John knew he had to get out of here.  
  
"Listen," John said to his split self. "You have to get him out of here. Back to his friends."  
  
His other self just glared at him. "You have to do this, and remember stick with this reality. You are John Crichton."  
  
"What the hell are you talking about," his other self said. "Who are you?" John's other self lunged after him and John moved away and knocked him to the floor, and he hit his head and lay lifeless on the floor.  
  
"I can't deal with this," John said. He waved his hand away and ran from the room. After all none of this was real.  
  
John got to his module, hopped in and started the engines. In a few microts he was back in space and set a course. He had to get back to Moya. He was sure Aeryn had given up on him, thinking he was dead. It had been over six solar days and he didn't expect for them to wait, but he would fly to the coordinates there anyway, and if they weren't there, then he would begin his search again.  
  
"Aeryn," D'Argo began.  
  
"I know, I know." Aeryn held up her hands to stop D'Argo. "We have to leave. I know."  
  
"I am sorry, but we are putting everyone in danger."  
  
"You are right, we have to go," Aeryn conceded. "John is gone, we have to think of Lucky and the rest of us."  
  
"Pilot, prepare to starburst," D'Argo said.  
  
"Yes," Pilot said then stopped. "D'Argo, there is a ship approaching."  
  
"Can you see what kind it is?" D'Argo rushed to the view screen. He hoped it was John and dreaded it if it wasn't.  
  
"I have just received communication," Pilot informed them. "It is Commander Crichton."  
  
Pilot's words flowed through Aeryn. John was here and he was alive. She put the back of her hand over her mouth and muffled a cry. Unable to stand, she leaned against the wall and laid her head back. "You came back," she said. "You came back."  
  
The module landed in the hanger and John sat in the cockpit trying to control his emotions. The adrenaline that had flowed through him for so many days had finally left and his strength was sapped. He wasn't sure he could move his limbs felt like lead.  
  
He didn't have to move, as he watched as the canopy popped open and Aeryn stood before him. Her face was red and tear stained and she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.  
  
Pouring himself from the module he landed on the floor with a thud and just pulled her into this arms. She felt so good, he leaned into her and she placed her arms around his waist to pull him closer.  
  
"I love you," John said into her hair. "I love you so much. I am so sorry."  
  
"Shhh," Aeryn said rubbing his head. "It's okay, you're back now. That's all that matters."  
  
Maybe it was the feeling of peace or he was just exhausted, but at that moment John felt everything grow black and he passed out. As everything went dark he saw Aeryn's face and smiled.  
  
The dream was horrible. Screaming, blood, fire it consumed him and he woke in a cold sweat. Panting deeply, John ripped the covers from his body and sat on the edge of the bed. His whole body was slick with sweat and he began rubbing it from his arms when he heard someone approaching.  
  
"John," Aeryn said in a worried voice. "You okay?"  
  
Aeryn was standing in the doorway, her legs braced and her arms wrapped around her waist. She was like an angel and she was here to save him.  
  
"You were right," John said hanging his head. "The blood is in here." He pointed to his chest and could feel hot tears forming in his eyes.  
  
John felt the side of the bed sag as Aeryn sat beside him. She grabbed one of his hands and linked her fingers with his.  
  
"I was so angry and consumed with rage, I didn't think about what I was doing." John kept his head bowed and didn't look at her. "I'm afraid I have made us even more wanted. What have I done? How can you ever forgive me?"  
  
"It will be okay, John." Aeryn rubbed her finger up and down his knuckles. 'There is nothing for me to forgive you for. I love you. We will be okay."  
  
"How can we?" John looked at her then and took a deep breath. "We are so messed up. We have both been tortured in more ways then could be imagined, and our son, what he had to go through is worse then any nightmare."  
  
"Yes, but he survived, is surviving," Aeryn said with a slight smile. "Just like we did. We are survivors John, and we will make it through this. We have to."  
  
"After what I have done, there is no place for us to hid out here," John revealed. "They will hunt us down until the ykills us, and I have not only put you and Lucky in danger, it is the rest on Moya as well."  
  
"Well then," Aeryn said pushing back her shoulders. "Then let's get out of here. Let's go home."  
  
"What are you talking about," John asked shaking his head.  
  
"You can go anywhere in a wormhole can't you?"  
  
John shook his head yes.  
  
"Then let's go to your home," Aeryn said with a bright smile. "Take me and Lucky to Earth."  
  
Her words shocked John. "You really want to go to Earth? Make it your home?"  
  
"Home is where you are," Aeryn said lifting her hand to stroke his cheek. "Wherever you are is where I want to be."  
  
John pulled her into his arms and kissed her deeply. God, if this was a dream, let it go on. But it was real and for once John Crichton could see the light at the end of the tunnel. Was happiness, true happiness not far behind?  
  
That evening, after John and Aeryn had told the others of their plan, they lay in each other's arms. John thought about the alternate reality he found himself in. It freaked him out. So, that was what would have happened if he had gone with the others that day. Fate was a tricky mistress. One flip of a coin and life could be so different. It was kind of scary, but he pushed the thought away.  
  
Aeryn turned in her sleep and John pulled her close. He would only think of the next day, for tomorrow he would pack up Aeryn and his son and they were going to Earth. It wasn't an assurance of complete peace and happiness but it was a start. 


	15. The Twinning of Aeryn Sun Pt 15

Hell on Earth Pt. 1 (Sequel to The Twinning of Aeryn Sun series) Author: blueaeryn Rating: R  
  
Summary: John, Aeryn and Lucky Go To Earth  
  
Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
Packing up and leaving Moya was one of the hardest things John Cricthon ever did. For four cycles he dreamed of Earth and going home, and when the day came he mourned leaving this place, this ship he had come to consider his home. He dreaded parting with his friends who had become his family and John didn't know if his life would ever be the same for meeting them.  
  
Aeryn's hand was securely in his as they stood in the maintenance bay. John held Lucky in his arm's, the little boy's head resting on John's shoulder.  
  
Prior to their departure, John and Aeryn had found a surgeon that had grafted an artificial leg for Lucky. Now with his unsightly silver artificial limb gone, it appeared the little boy had a real leg. He still limped but the surgeon said even that would disappear when Lucky acclimated himself to the new limb.  
  
John had tried to persuade Aeryn to have the surgeon look at the scar that ran down her abdomen. He was sure the surgeon could lessen the harshness of the jagged flesh, but Aeryn refused. She told John it was a reminder of what she went through, the promise she made to herself to survive. John conceded and only shook his head.  
  
What John didn't know is what Aeryn did next. While he was helping Lucky adjust to his new leg, Aeryn took the surgeon aside and asked him a few questions. She had the surgeon run a scan on her and check to see the possibility of having more children.  
  
The surgeon shook his head in a morose manner. "It doesn't appear you will ever be able to conceive again," the surgeon said. "The damage was too great."  
  
"But there is still a chance," Aeryn asked hopefully.  
  
"A slim chance."  
  
"Then can you release the genetic coding that places a pregnancy in stasis?" Aeryn looked back through the doorway to make sure John wasn't coming.  
  
"I told you the percentages are very low that you would even conceive." The surgeon packed up the scanner and placed it on the table. "There is no need."  
  
"I have the need and the currency so do it," Aeryn said glaring at him.  
  
"Fine, but I just didn't want you to get your hopes up."  
  
"Hope is all I have." Aeryn sighed and lay down on the table.  
  
John and Aeryn hugged their friends tightly as they prepared to leave. They had all been through so much, helped each other through so much that it almost felt wrong to leave.  
  
D'Argo noticed the hesitation in his friend's faces. "Don't even think about not going." He pointed his finger at both of them. "Get in that bucket of dren and go home. Take this boy to meet his grandfather."  
  
Reaching over, D'Argo plucked Lucky from John's arms. He held the boy close and hugged him tightly. Lifting him away, D'Argo smiled at the boy and he smiled back. "I love you, Lucky. Remember your uncle D'Argo."  
  
"'kay," Lucky said with wide grin. "Love you." Lucky wrapped his tiny arms around D'Argo's neck and squeezed.  
  
"What about me," Chiana asked walking up to the duo. "Where's my Lucky love."  
  
Lucky scrambled from D'Argo's hold and into Chiana's awaiting arms. "Love you too," Lucky said hugging her.  
  
"Oh, I am going to miss Lucky love." Chiana felt tears forming in her eyes and she used her free hand to wipe it from her cheek. "Now you be a good boy." Chiana kissed Lucky on the cheek and moved to give him back to John.  
  
Settling Lucky back on his hip, John turned back to his friends. "We're going to miss you guys so much," John admitted. "Sure you don't want to come?"  
  
"No, we can't John," D'Argo said. "We'll stay here and keep an eye on things."  
  
"If we can, we'll come back," Aeryn told them. "I promise."  
  
"I hope you don't," D'Argo admitted. "That means you found happiness."  
  
"Take care of my Prowler," Aeryn said as she and John prepared to get into his module.  
  
"You know I will," D'Argo promised.  
  
John and Aeryn settled into the module with John in front and Aeryn sitting in the back. Lucky was sitting on Aeryn's lap. Maneuvering the module out of the hanger John accelerated the engine as they cleared Moya. Beyond them, to the left, was the wormhole he and Pilot had found the day before.  
  
"Ready," John asked turning his head to Aeryn.  
  
"Do it." Aeryn held her breath. This had to be the biggest step of her life, even bigger then standing up for John against Crais those long cylcles ago.  
  
"Here goes." John turned the controls to the left and set a course for the wormhole. He held his breath as well, as the module dipped in. A sudden jolt sent John's head snapping back and he shook his head and cleared his vision, trying to focus on the hundreds of paths the wormhole offered.  
  
Closing his eyes, John listened for the hum. He couldn't explain where it came from or why he heard it that way, but he knew what he was listening for. It was a beeping hum and he knew in his bones that when he heard it, then it would be the path to Earth.  
  
"Left, then right, then left again," John said aloud but mostly to himself. "That's it."  
  
"Look, Mommy it is all blue outside," John heard Lucky say. "Pretty."  
  
Aeryn kissed Lucky on the top of his head and rubbed his light brown hair. "Shh," she said putting her finger up to her lips. "Daddy is trying to concentrate."  
  
Lucky put his pudgy little finger up to his lips repeating what Aeryn had done. "Me quiet." Laying his head on Aeryn's chest, Lucky stared out the module's window with an awed expression.  
  
John watched as the various openings came and went, shaking his head at each one. Then it came, the hum, it sounded like the one he wanted. Yeah, that was the sound, but there was a moment of uncertainty. Was it THE one, than he convinced himself it was? It had to be. Steering his module to the right, John took the opening and fought the controls to keep the module stable. An opening appeared and just like that the module was pushed out of the wormhole and John found himself orbiting Earth.  
  
"Is that it?" Aeryn leaned over John's shoulder. "Is that Earth?"  
  
"Yeah." John breathed a sigh. "It's home."  
  
"Earfh," Lucky said with a smile. "Daddy home?"  
  
"Daddy's home," John said to Lucky. Turning around he ruffled the little boy's head. "Let's get this over with."  
  
John knew he wouldn't get a ticker tape parade or the key to the city for his return. Earth and humans were a suspicious lot and he knew what was in store for them. He just hoped Aeryn didn't hate him afterwards.  
  
Checking his coordinates, John set a course for Florida and IASA's home base. He turned on his comms and was surprised at what he heard. "Sir, we have another one coming through. It looks like the same craft."  
  
"What are they talking about?" Aeryn leaned over John.  
  
"Shh," John said. "Here goes." John turned on his communication device.  
  
"This is John Crichton, United States citizen and former member of the IASA program." John waited for a reply. "Can anyone read me?"  
  
"Did you say John Crichton," a voice asked.  
  
"Yes, John Crichton," John said. "Contact my father, Jack Crichton he can vouch for me."  
  
"I want more than a confirmation from Jack Crichton," the voice said angrily. "I want some kind of proof."  
  
John cocked his head and closed his eyes. Damn, that voice sounded familiar. "Who are you?" John knew he had heard that voice before.  
  
"I am asking the questions," the voice said in disgust. "Now, who are you?"  
  
"I told you, I am John Crichton." John was getting frustrated. All he wanted to do was land his module, get his family on terra firma and see his dad. "Now, who are you?"  
  
"I am Aeryn Sun," the voice replied. "And you can't be John Crichton. Because John Crichton is dead."  
  
"Well, I am John Crichton and I am not dead," John said angrily. "And how am I to believe you are Aeryn Sun?" John looked back at Aeryn behind him and shook his head.  
  
"Because I know who I am," she said.  
  
"So do I," John said.  
  
"John is that you," his dad's voice came over the comms.  
  
"Finally," John said. "Yeah, dad it is me. I don't know who the frell, hell, that is but that is not Aeryn Sun. Now, can I get clearance to enter US airspace so I can land."  
  
"Of course, of course," Jack said. "Go ahead and begin your decent and you will have clearance."  
  
"We don't even know.." John heard the woman say as the communication was cut off.  
  
"What was that all about," Aeryn asked John.  
  
"I have no idea." John shook his head. "I mean, you are Aeryn Sun and I don't know what that woman's problem is but she has got some explaining to do."  
  
Aeryn smiled at John's statement. He had told her that in his mind she was Aeryn Sun but with everything that happened it was good to hear it again.  
  
With a fluid grace, John entered Earth's atmosphere and then set a course for Florida and IASA's airstrip. When he located it, John aimed the module for the landing strip and landed it softly.  
  
Numerous official looking vehicles were there to greet him. He had been expecting this, but he couldn't even imagine this many.  
  
"Welcome to Earth." John popped the canopy and felt the breeze hit his face. There was his smell. It was like mom's apple pie resting on the window ledge when you first come back home, it enveloped you, embraced you and welcomed you home.  
  
Jumping down from the module, John pounded his feet on the pavement. Earth, terra firma, he never expected to feel this again. Looking up into the module, he saw the look of hesitance on Aeryn's face, in contrast Lucky's face beamed.  
  
Turning toward the group gathered before them, John noticed his father coming toward him and someone else. She had shoulder length dark hair and her walk exuded self-assurance.  
  
"Dad," John yelled when his father stood before him. "It is good to see you."  
  
"John," Jack's words were formed in a question. "How can this be?"  
  
John smiled at his dad and then turned his attention to the woman. Damn, if she didn't look like Aeryn. John turned his head to look in the module. Yeah, she was still there. "Aeryn."  
  
"Yes," two voices said.  
  
"Come on," John said to the Aeryn in the module. Aeryn was in shock at the woman standing on the ground. A foreboding sense of deja vu swept over Aeryn as she jumped from the module and to the ground Lucky in her arms.  
  
Lucky, always bashful when it came to meeting new people, looked up at the two people standing before him and laid his head back on Aeryn's shoulder. "That lady looks like you," Lucky whispered to Aeryn.  
  
The woman claiming to be Aeryn looked at Lucky with a stunned expression. "Oh my," she exclaimed. "It can't be."  
  
"What is it, Aeryn," Jack asked her.  
  
It annoyed John that he called her Aeryn. The woman behind him was Aeryn, not her. In an afterthought, John realized the woman was speaking English, which puzzled him further.  
  
"That boy looks just like TJ," the other Aeryn whispered. "My son." 


	16. The Twinning of Aeryn Sun Pt 16

Hell on Earth Pt. 2 (Sequel to The Twinning of Aeryn Sun series) Author: blueaeryn Rating: R  
  
Summary: John, Aeryn and Lucky Go To Earth  
  
Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
"Okay," John said. "What the hell is going on?" He was frustrated and tired of people messing with him.  
  
John moved to Aeryn's side and took Lucky from her arms. "I don't know who the hell you are." John pointed his finger at the Aeryn standing beside his father. "But this is Aeryn Sun, not you."  
  
"John, why don't we take this inside?" Jack placed his hand on John's shoulder.  
  
"Get your hand's off me." John backed away from Jack. John took Aeryn's hand and walked up to Jack.  
  
"Now, take us out of here."  
  
Jack swept his hand by John signaling for him to lead the way. The Aeryn from Earth shot Jack an angry glare and he nodded his head and held up his hand telling her to just wait.  
  
"What is going on?" Aeryn whispered into John's ear. She was beginning to worry that they were somewhere they weren't supposed to be. Or maybe John was where he was supposed to be, but she wasn't. It was a scary prospect.  
  
"Don't worry, we'll clear this up." John rubbed Aeryn's hand with his thumb. Lucky shifted in John's arms and he hiked the little boy further on his hip.  
  
John, Aeryn and Lucky were led to a small room with a large mirror on one side. He didn't have to ask to know that there were observers on the other side of the glass.  
  
John sat Lucky in one of the metal chairs and slid one out for Aeryn. She gave him a puzzled look and he nodded his head toward the chair. "Sit down."  
  
Aeryn took a seat beside Lucky and John pulled out a chair beside her. Placing his arms on the table John looked over at Aeryn. She was scared he could tell. He hadn't seen that look on her face since they had gone to the fake Earth the Ancients had created.  
  
"It's going to be okay," John promised.  
  
"How can you be so sure," Aeryn said. She picked up Lucky who was whimpering and placed his head on her chest. "You can't know what is going to happen."  
  
The door opened and Jack walked into the room. Thankfully the woman claiming to be Aeryn wasn't with him. John didn't think he or Aeryn could take her right now.  
  
"Son, it is good to see you," Jack said pulling out a chair.  
  
"Stop with the chit-chat," John said leaning back in his chair causing the metal legs to scrape the floor. "I want to know who that woman is and how she got here?"  
  
Jack breathed a heavy sigh and looked at his son and the woman who looked so much like the woman he had taken under his wing. She wasn't a replacement for the loss of his son, but she was a link to him and her son, well her son was almost like having John back. He looked over the woman who cradled a boy that looked so much like TJ it was frightening. She wore a steely expression, so harsh and cold, unlike the woman he called Aeryn Sun.  
  
Telling the story of the arrival of Aeryn Sun to Earth was an easy one, he had told it so many times to various IASA officials and to his grandson. TJ asked almost once a week to be told the story of his mother's arrival on Earth and how she carried him inside her and how TJ had been born on Earth.  
  
Aeryn Sun had arrived on Earth in John Crichton's Farscape One Module. She landed on Earth amid suspicion and heavy guard. Immediately asking for Jack Crichton when she landed, everyone was surprised she spoke English. Jack Crichton was summoned immediately and was shaking in anticipation. He hadn't been told who arrived in the Farscape One module, just it had come back to Earth.  
  
His heart fell when he saw the woman sitting in the tiny interrogation room. Her harsh features took Jack aback but he also noticed tenderness about her. She sat up straight in the chair, her head held high ready to take on anyone.  
  
Jack didn't want to take her on he just wanted answers about his son. Why was she here in John's module and where was he?  
  
"My name is Jack Crichton," he said sitting down across from her. "You asked to see me."  
  
"I know," she said. "John spoke of you often, and in a way I met you before."  
  
Jack gave her a puzzled expression. "What do you mean?"  
  
"Too long to explain that," Aeryn waved him away. "Best to tell you why I am here."  
  
Aeryn told Jack she had found Earth as if John Crichton's own hand was guiding her. She had come trying to escape the Scarren's who had been chasing her. She saw the wormhole open and took it as a sign or the fate that John kept talking about and dipped the module in and found herself orbiting Earth.  
  
It wasn't easy explaining her existence, but Jack tried. Somewhere deep inside he knew she told the truth. This woman was linked to John. What hurt was her belief that he was dead, and Jack could tell John's death had hit her hard as well. She loved his son and mourned his death.  
  
There was a bright spot, however, when Aeryn told Jack why she fought so hard to stay alive. She carried a piece of John Crichton within her. She was pregnant with his child.  
  
Life took on new meaning for Jack when she told him she carried his son's child. He fought everyone he could find to make sure Aeryn was safe and that no harm came to her. It surprised everyone how useful she could be to their continuing space program, and soon she had made herself invaluable to IASA. As their trust grew in Aeryn, so did her waistline and a few months later she gave birth to John's son and Jack's grandson. Aeryn has decided to name him Talyn John Sun Crichton, and Jack doted on the boy.  
  
That had been four cycles ago. TJ was a thriving three-year old and Aeryn was an up and coming member of the IASA team. Jack was happy with his life, even though he missed his son, but now this man came claiming to be his son. He didn't know what to think about it.  
  
"That is a load of crap," John said disgusted. "This woman is not Aeryn." John stood and stalked around the room. "I wish people would stop frelling with me." John ran his fingers through his short brown hair and pressed his palms against his skull.  
  
Aeryn looked over at Jack and noticed his leery stare. He thought John was losing it and he just may be right. "John" Aeryn said standing up with Lucky in her arms. "Why don't you calm down?"  
  
"I can't." John shot her with a wild stare.  
  
It forced Aeryn to step back and shield Lucky to her. She hadn't seen him like this since he left to go and find the Scarrens. He had been wild and uncontrollable the day he had left, and since he returned to her and Lucky a sense of peace had come over him. Now, however, the same wildness seemed to have returned.  
  
"Look at him." John pointed his finger at Jack. "He has this look like he doesn't believe who I am. My own father."  
  
"John, he is just confused." Aeryn tried to touch his arm, but John moved back. "He thought you were dead."  
  
"Maybe I am dead," John said pacing again. "Maybe this is purgatory of some sort. A way to punish me for all my sins."  
  
"Listen to yourself," Aeryn said angrily. "Just think about what you are saying and you will know it is crazy and full of dren."  
  
Jack watched the two interact. There was camaraderie there even when they were fighting. It seemed this Aeryn knew just what to say to calm John down, something Jack could never do. He couldn't understand a word she was saying, but she seemed to be giving him a lot of grief for his reactions.  
  
John looked at Aeryn and he saw the fire in her eyes. She sure was pissed and Lucky knew it to. He just lay in her arms silently waiting for her to finish her rant.  
  
"You're right, you are always right." John seemed to deflate like a children's party balloon. He took a deep breath and reached for the chair in front of him. He turned it around and straddled it to stare at his father.  
  
"It is me, Dad." John winked at Jack. "John Crichton is home."  
  
John saw a tear form in the old man's eyes and it shocked him. Fighting to stay alive in the world he had been thrown in, John rarely thought about what his absence would do to the people he left behind. Watching his father fight back tears, John got a taste of what it was like without him.  
  
Hearing Aeryn move behind him, John felt her hand on his shoulder. He leaned his head over and touched his cheek to his hand. It was his way of saying he was sorry for acting like a mad man, and when he looked up he was rewarded with a tight smile. This was hard on Aeryn, he could see it and John almost regretted coming back to Earth.  
  
"So, what is on the agenda?' John slapped his hands together. "I am sure they want to run various tests on me to make sure I am who I say I am. Bring it on."  
  
"That can wait," Jack said with a slight smile. "First, why don't you introduce me to these two."  
  
John looked up at Aeryn and Lucky. He took Aeryn's hand that had been resting on his shoulder and led her to the chair beside him. When she sat down, he took Lucky from her and settled the boy on his lap.  
  
"This is Aeryn Sun, the real Aeryn Sun." He just had to add that. "And this little guy is my son Lucky." John ruffled the little boy's head.  
  
"Are you my grandpa?" Lucky stuck his finger in his mouth. "I hafta' artafacial leg." Lucky lifted up his leg with the artificial limp and tapped it.  
  
"What." Jack leaned in closer. "What is he talking about? I can't understand him."  
  
For a moment, John as surprised at his father's words, but then he remembered the translator microbes. Lucky had been injected with them soon after his birth, and though he could understand Jack, it didn't work both ways. John never thought about it, but he guessed Aeryn taught Lucky her language and to Jack Lucky was speaking Sebaccean just like Aeryn.  
  
John didn't want to go into the horrors surrounding Lucky's birth so he simplified the answer. "Lucky was born without a leg." John kissed the boy's cheek. "We had him fitted with a new leg before we left. He is really proud of it."  
  
"I can see." Jack lifted his hands as if he wanted to take the boy from John but sat back. "He is, he looks..." Jack stopped his sentence.  
  
"You think he looks like the other boy?"  
  
"His is an exact copy," Jack said smiling slightly. "Like they were twins."  
  
Jack's comment about her son and the other boy being twins caused Aeryn to flinch. It reminded her of the baby that had been ripped from her body by the Scarrens, the son that was to be Lucky's twin his brother. She also thought of her own twinning and the other Aeryn Sun that had died in John's arms.  
  
John noticed the look on Aeryn's face. Yes, he was thinking the same thing. Twins, the baby she had lost, the woman he had lost that had her face. Would this madness ever stop?  
  
"I have to talk to her." John jumped from his chair. "I want to see her."  
  
"Who John?" Jack stood to face him.  
  
"The one you call Aeryn Sun," John said. "The one who says she is Aeryn."  
  
Jack stepped back. "I can arrange that. She is just outside the door." Jack moved to open the door.  
  
"No." John turned his head to look at Aeryn. "Not here. In another room."  
  
John couldn't and wouldn't subject Aeryn to the woman's presence. Some things were better left said in private, in a place where the air could be cleared.  
  
"Alright, John I'll arrange it." Jack turned and left the room.  
  
"I am going to talk to her and get his all cleared up." John took Aeryn by the shoulders. Lucky slid down between them and stood beside Aeryn's leg. "I am going to find out what the hell is going on."  
  
Aeryn nodded. She touched his cheek and gave him a false smile. "Go."  
  
"I'll be right back." John leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips. Before he parted he brushed his nose across hers. "I love you he whispered as he left the room."  
  
It was strange to open the door and see the face of the woman you had just kissed goodbye. But there she was, in body at least. The spirit of Aeryn Sun, in John's eyes, was with the woman he had left in the other room holding his son.  
  
John shut the door and the woman turned to him. "John?" She turned her head slightly. "Oh, John." She ran to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.  
  
"Where have you been?" She kissed him deeply and as John tried to pull away, she dragged him closer to deepen the kiss. 


	17. The Twinning of Aeryn Sun Pt 17

Hell on Earth Pt. 3 (Sequel to The Twinning of Aeryn Sun series) Author: blueaeryn Rating: R  
  
Summary: John, Aeryn and Lucky Go To Earth  
  
Notes: Spoilers through the end of S3 Disclaimer: Not mine.  
  
John pushed the woman claiming to be Aeryn away from him and broke the kiss. "Hey, ease off lady." Taking the back of his hand, John attempted to rub the kiss off his mouth. Now that proved more then anything this wasn't Aeryn. He only received a welcome like that from Aeryn in his dreams.  
  
"John," the woman turned her head and squinted her eyes. "Is that you?"  
  
"Yeah, I am John Crichton." John backed up to the door and put his hand on the knob. "But who the hell are you? That is the question."  
  
"This is ridiculous," she said in a defeated voice. "I mean you are John Crichton, of course you are." She ran her fingers through her dark hair and sat down in a chair.  
  
It wasn't until she began to fiddle with her hair that John noticed this Aeryn's hair was a lot shorter then the woman's he had left in the room across the hall. This Earth Aeryn also had highlights that accentuated her dark hair. Primping courtesy of Earth.  
  
"The question is again," John sat down in the chair opposite her. "Who are you?"  
  
"Ohhh," she sighed leaning back in the chair. "Let's not start that again."  
  
"Yeah, let's not." John turned the knob on the door. "I can't deal with this right now." John spoke the truth. All the emotion, all the feelings, all the uncertainty washed over him. He longed to see Aeryn, to feel her in his arms and to him this woman wasn't Aeryn.  
  
"Where are you going?" She stood.  
  
"Back over there." John had opened the door and thumbed his finger at the door across the hall. "I am going to the Aeryn I know. The one that is real. She needs me. I don't know you."  
  
Rushing out the door, John slammed it hard. Nodding his head he looked back at the door and balled his fist. He longed to slam it against the wall to ease some of the tension that was coiling in his body. He wished he could let out a cleansing scream, but he was sure they would lock him up for that.  
  
Opening the door to where he had left Aeryn, his heart stopped in his chest when he realized the room was empty. "Aeryn?" He looked around the room. "Aeryn?" John picked up a chair and scooted it across the floor and then picked it up and threw it at the mirror across the room. The mirror cracked but didn't break. Kind of like him, he was cracking but refused to break.  
  
"Where the hell is she?" John was breathing heavily and began to sweat. "Damn it."  
  
Jack burst through the door. "John."  
  
When John turned to look at his father, Jack noticed that wild look again. Aeryn had calmed him then, but she wasn't here. Jack wondered if he had the right words to do the same.  
  
"Where is she?" John picked up another chair and braced it in front of him. "I don't want to hurt anyone, but I will. Where is she?" He kept asking the same question over and over.  
  
"John, it's okay." Jack held up his hands. "Though we couldn't communicate, I could tell she was tired and hungry. I had her taken to a safe house across the base."  
  
"Take me there." John let the chair slip down his leg and onto the floor. "Now."  
  
Jack didn't have words to express the fear he felt in seeing his son slip so easily into such uncontrollable rage. Directing John to the awaiting car outside the facility, Jack drove in uneasy silence, glancing at his son ever few seconds. John had rolled down the window and stuck his face out to blow in the wind the moving car created.  
  
Sitting in the car, John felt the nervous energy crawling around inside him. He wouldn't settle down until he saw Aeryn and Lucky, assuring himself they were all right. When his father pulled up to a small house, John noticed the official cars parked outside and two armed guards posted at the front door.  
  
"Welcome home," John whispered under his breath. He pulled the car door handle and opened the door. Not looking back at his father, John strode toward the door of the house like a man possessed. The two armed men stood at attention their guns aimed and ready.  
  
"It's all right," John heard his father say. Shaking his head John moved past them and opened the door. Relief washed over him when he saw Aeryn sitting on the brown leather couch. Lucky was at her feet pushing a small blue toy truck across the floor.  
  
"Aeryn." John rushed to her side and collapsed at her feet. Placing his head on her lap, he hugged her legs and almost fell apart.  
  
Aeryn rubbed his head. "What's the matter?"  
  
"Nothing." John looked up to Aeryn. "I came back and you were gone. I didn't know where you where."  
  
Aeryn lifted his chin to get a better look. "You are going to have to calm down, John." She stroked his cheek. "You are losing it. You have to focus."  
  
"Just promise you won't leave me again."  
  
Aeryn nodded her head. She wanted to bring up that he had been the last one to leave but didn't. John's actions were scaring her. She had never seen him this unstable, and longed to just put all three of them back into his module and get the frell out of here.  
  
"Lucky," Aeryn said. Lucky ceased running the truck across the floor and looked at his mother. "Stay here and play, I'll be right back."  
  
John scrambled to his feet. "Where are you going?"  
  
"I am taking you to bed." Aeryn took his hand.  
  
John let a large grin spread across his face. "Do you think this is the right time?" He leaned over to peer out the window.  
  
"To sleep." Aeryn drug him down the hall to the small sleeping area she had found earlier. When they entered the room, Aeryn pushed John onto the bed and he fell back with a thud.  
  
"I want you to just rest for a while," Aeryn told him. She went over and took off his heavy black boots and laid them beside the bed.  
  
"What about you?" John was already closing his eyes.  
  
"I'll lie down with Lucky when he is ready." Aeryn leaned over and kissed John lightly on the lips.  
  
All the events of the past few days washed over John and before he knew it, blessed sleep claimed him. It wasn't long before the dreams came.  
  
The sun was warm, not hot just perfect. The sky was blue with light puffy clouds dotting the landscape. That one there looks like Winnie the Pooh, John thought to himself. He wanted to tell Lucky to come and see, but he was off in the water with his mother.  
  
Aeryn and Lucky were down at the lake splashing and he could hear their laughter filling the air. She looked amazing in the little black bathing suit. Her scar was gone, that was funny he thought she had decided to keep it. No matter, she would have looked beautiful with or with out it.  
  
Contentment washed over John as he lay in the sweet green grass and he could feel the tiny blades running through his fingers as he lay his hand off the side of the blanket. Soon Aeryn and Lucky would come rushing up the bank, their skin glistening from the cool water, and he just knew they would try and drench him when they dried off. He smiled thinking about how he would act shocked by their actions.  
  
He closed his eyes and waited, and soon he felt something wet dripping on his legs and then up his torso. "Aeryn," he said with his eyes still closed. "Are you trying to wet me?"  
  
Opening his eyes, he felt a scream become lodged in his throat. Aeryn was standing before him but it wasn't water dripping from her, it was blood. A large gash made its way down her stomach and her dark hair was almost red with blood. She held a lifeless body in her hands and with closer inspection John realized it was Lucky.  
  
"Help us," Aeryn said weakly before she collapsed to the ground.  
  
"Aeryn," John kept screaming over and over again. He felt a hand on his shoulder and fought it off. They weren't getting him. Drawing back his hand he punched at the entity trying to capture him and when he connected he heard a loud groan.  
  
"John, John, stop it." Aeryn collected herself off the floor where John's punch had sent her and tried to grab his flailing arms. "You are having a dream."  
  
"Where am I?" John sat up in bed and looked around. The sheets had wrapped around his legs and he reached down to pull them off.  
  
"You are still here." Aeryn touched his arm. "Calm down."  
  
John fell back against the bed and took a deep breath. "We were having this great day, and then you came to me drenched in blood and Lucky was dead." He opened his eyes. "I felt helpless."  
  
Aeryn sat on the edge of the bed and scooted him over. She lie down next to him and placed her hand on his chest. "It wasn't real."  
  
"Is this real?" John put his chin on his chest to stare at her. "Are we really here on Earth?"  
  
"I don't know," Aeryn admitted. "It just feels so wrong."  
  
"Yeah," John shifted to sit up and lean against the headboard dragging Aeryn up with him. "All of this feels off."  
  
"What if it isn't?" Aeryn was so confused she didn't even know if she was real anymore.  
  
"It has to be." John closed his eyes. "It has to be."  
  
Laughter from the other room stopped John and Aeryn's musings. Aeryn left the bed and went in search of the commotion.  
  
John followed close behind, deciding he didn't want to be separated from Aeryn. In the living room John saw Lucky laughing and limping around the couch. He smiled seeing his son enjoying himself until he noticed who was chasing him. It was a little boy who looked just like Lucky, but it wasn't.  
  
Jack stood at the edge of the room a large smile on his face. "I thought they should meet." He caught TJ as he scampered past Jack and lifted him in the air. "I mean they are brothers kind of."  
  
"No their not," John said angrily.  
  
"Mommy," Lucky said rushing to his mother. "That boy looks like me." He rubbed his nose and linked his hands around Aeryn's leg. "Cept' he has two legs. I only have one." Lucky lifted up his artificial leg to show Aeryn.  
  
"I know, baby," Aeryn rubbed the little boy's head.  
  
Lucky took off again smiling and Aeryn tried to smile back, but his comments caused a cold chill to run down her. It was another reminder that even though she believed it, Lucky wasn't perfect and neither was she.  
  
The surgeon's words kept re-playing in her mind. His uncertainty about her ability to bear more children weighed upon her. It was funny, before she met John it was something she never thought of. In fact, she dreaded being put on the breeding roster. Now becoming pregnant again was all she longed for. A way to give herself and John a fresh start with a new baby they could watch grow inside her from the beginning, but now she wasn't even sure she could offer him that.  
  
The Aeryn here on Earth could offer him that, and so much more. She was sure of it. She could also offer him a perfect son, one that was whole. Maybe this was a sign to Aeryn. A way for the fates to show her what John should have. Maybe she should just leave. The doubts clawed at her from the inside and tried to work their way out.  
  
Could she leave here, leave John and take Lucky from his father. Leave the only man she had ever loved? She wasn't sure, but she did know something had to be done before John lost it completely and then she was sure he could never find his way back.  
  
The door opening interrupted Aeryn's thoughts and she looked up to see the other Aeryn make her way into the room. She was so different then herself, and Aeryn looked down at her leather pants, black vest and black T-shirt and then turned her gaze to John. She wondered if he missed the way Earth women dressed.  
  
This Aeryn had really acclimated herself to Earth customs as she wore a pair of blue pants, John called them jeans, a red tight-fitting T-shirt and had adorned her ears with some sort of jewelry. Aeryn also noticed she had cut her hair to a short bob which hung loosely at her chin.  
  
TJ ran to his mother when he saw her enter, and she lifted him into her arms. She looked straight at John and smiled. "Hello, John."  
  
John saw Aeryn flinch, and it incensed him. "Okay, this is enough." John turned to his father. "Dad can you take the boys to the other room?"  
  
"Sure son, but don't you want.."  
  
"Please," John said interrupting his father.  
  
"Okay," Jack looked at his son and then tried to gather up the boys. He took Lucky's hand and then went to take TJ from her.  
  
When Jack reached for the boy John noticed something flash between his father and this Aeryn. It was very subtle, a sparkle, a lingering glance but it was there. He would have shaken it off, but what he saw next utterly convinced him, for when Jack took TJ his fingers lingered ever so slightly on her hand. Damn the old man had the hots for her, he thought. Now he knew there was something going on.  
  
Jack left the room with the boys and John took his Aeryn's hand and motioned for the other Aeryn to sit in the chair opposite the couch. He and Aeryn took the couch.  
  
"Tell me what happened to John Crichton." John straightened his shoulders. Aeryn, his Aeryn, snuck a peek at him and shot him a questioning glance. "It's okay," his mouthed to her.  
  
"But you are John Crichton," the other Aeryn told him.  
  
"Let's pretend I am not."  
  
"Alright," she said breathing a heavy sigh.  
  
This Aeryn told a story that was similar to his own, except for a couple of key details. For one thing, there was no mention of a twinning of either himself or Aeryn. Mentally he keyed the variable in and then she talked about how John had joined forces with Scorpius and the Peacekeepers to try and defeat the Scarrens.  
  
It seemed John was using an experimental vessel that was to increase the rate of ships sent through a wormhole, and he was sucked in and never heard from again. Without completing his equations, the Peacekeepers were defeated by the Scarrens. The forces were scattered, with Aeryn barely escaping in John's module and that is how she found her way to Earth.  
  
"Well, that does it for me," John said standing. "Come on Aeryn."  
  
"John," she said standing beside him. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Can't you see, this is an alternate reality," John tried to explain. "In this reality John Crichton died, you came to Earth," John pointed his finger at the other Aeryn. "And now you have the hots for my father."  
  
"What," Aeryn said.  
  
"How did you know," the other Aeryn asked the same time.  
  
"Call it Crichton intuition." John smiled. "Listen, I am sorry your John died, but I'm not him. I don't belong here."  
  
The other Aeryn just nodded her head.  
  
"I'm sorry," John said.  
  
"So am I."  
  
"Let's get Lucky and get the hell out of her." John started down the hall with Aeryn at his side.  
  
From the doorway, John saw his father laughing and playing with the two boys. It made him miss his dad, and even though this man was his father, he really wasn't. Not the one from his reality.  
  
"Dad, we gotta go," John said from the doorway. Aeryn brushed by him and went to pick up Lucky. "I'm sorry I'm not your John Crichton. I belong somewhere else."  
  
"This can be your reality," Jack said hurriedly. "You can stay."  
  
"Nah," John said clicking his tongue. "I belong somewhere else."  
  
"I don't want you to go," Jack said walking up to John and embracing him. "I feel like I am losing you all over again."  
  
"You know what you can do for me?" John pulled from his embrace. "Why don't you tell that woman in there how you really feel. I'd say you have been alone too long."  
  
Jack wore a shocked expression on his face and then he smiled. "What was my tell?"  
  
"The look, Dad, it was the look."  
  
John Crichton closed the canopy of his module and turned his head to look at Aeryn and his son. "Ready?"  
  
"Yes, let's get out of here." Aeryn rubbed his shoulder. "Where are we going?"  
  
"Home." John powered up the engine and they took off into Earth's atmosphere.  
  
A welcoming party was waiting for them when they arrived. John smiled back at Aeryn who rewarded him with one as well. "Happy to be home?"  
  
"Yes," Aeryn sighed. "Now, pop that canopy and let's get out."  
  
John did as she requested and as he jumped to the ground, Aeryn handed a sleeping Lucky down to John. Even before Aeryn could clear the cockpit of the module, the trio were bombarded by their friends.  
  
Chiana reached them first and she tackled John with Lucky in his arms and gave him a huge hug and leaned down to give Lucky a kiss on his brow. When Aeryn stood beside John, Chiana let her excitement flow over to Aeryn and hugged her as well. Aeryn smiled slighthly.  
  
D'Argo rushed to his friends and couldn't hide his joy. He slapped John on the shoulder and laughed. "So, how was it?"  
  
"It was hell on Earth," John replied as he took Aeryn's hand and led the small band down the passageway. "But I am home now, and if the Scarren's want me let them come. Cause I'm not leaving again" 


End file.
